Blown gasket cause of Ranchos water outage

About 75 Gardnerville Ranchos homes were affected by a water outage on Wednesday.

A leak at the intersection of Tillman Lane and Langley Drive was caused by a blown gasket in a fitting under the sidewalk at the intersection.

Gardnerville Ranchos General Improvement District workers dug up the sidewalk to access the leak in the tapping saddle joining the 8-inch and 10-inch water mains.

After trying to repair it in place, District Manager Greg Reed said the crew determined the best of course of action was to decrease the pressure in surrounding mains so they could access the connection.

Reed said water pressure was reduced to around 75 homes on Dora Drive, Pollen Court and the Clock Tower Apartments.

He said the Ranchos crew worked in freezing weather to bring water back by 11:45 p.m.

“District crews worked tirelessly for 15 hours to bring the system back on line in less than ideal weather conditions,” he said.

District customers affected by the leak have been advised to boil drinking water while the district tests to make sure there wasn’t any contamination. The customers under the order will be notified when the tests are concluded.