Ashlee Robison, staff writer

Some students may have recently  noticed a large crater being carved out of the soccer fields with heavy equipment. Over the past two weeks, the City of Asheville has been digging under the fields to find a leak in the water pipes that run under them and supply the city with drinking water.

Though workers used ultrasonic test technology to pinpoint leaks, the equipment was unable to find the exact location of the pipe under the field because of the depth it was buried. City employees began digging at the blow-off valves hoping to find the leak. They were correct in their guess and discovered the leak between the two fields. They are working to construct a trench box inside the hole to protect the safety of the employees who complete the repair. Trench boxes have two steel walls fitted on either side of the broken pipe with braces in between to protect the workers from cave-ins while they mend the leak.

Before the city started digging, the electrical crew removed the underground lines to the scoreboards. City workers removed the irrigation hydrants on both fields along with the walking bridge between the fields and the asphalt drive leading to the fields.   

“Once they get the hole filled back in, then we can tell how much of the playing surface has been disturbed. There might be some damage to the new field,” Landscaping Crew Supervisor Bruce Willever said. “We did build within the city’s right of way for the water lines. We knew that.”

“The biggest concern I’ve got is them replacing the grass,” Physical Plant Director Paul Braese said. “I’m trying to get them to put down sod instead of seed when they’re finished. We’ve probably spent $100,000 on that new soccer field,” he added. “When the city is done, they should put everything back the way they found it.”

While the work was being done on the fields, the City of Asheville decided to fix another leak on Casey’s Connector Trail that has been known about for ten years. Workers hit the pipe with the backhoe and tore a larger hole in the already leaking pipe. Water streamed down both the road beside Ecodorm and North Lane due to this leak. After they shut the water off, they were able to mend the pipe without further problems.

The final step in the process of fixing the leak is compacting the thousands of feet of dirt back into the hole. Until then, the site is considered unsafe for students. Both Braese and Willever caution students from going near the hole because of the potential for landslides to occur.