Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics lot floods

COLFAX - The Whitman County Hospital and Medical Clinics (WHMC) had a waterline malfunction last Tuesday morning, Sept. 26, causing heavy flooding in the clinic's parking lot.

WHMC Manager of Administration Services Laurie Gronning told the Gazette last Tuesday that the city arrived at the hospital, shut the water off, and worked to repair the line.

Colfax Public Works Director Matt Hammer told the Gazette Monday, Oct. 2, that the cap on the T-connection had blown off due to water pressure.

"It was not restrained," Hammer said, noting that it hadn't been tightened.

Hammer said that city Public Works took off enough of the top fill to get into the waterline.

The line was temporarily fixed on Oct. 2 and was scheduled to be finished on Tuesday, Oct. 3, Gronning said.

"What we're going to do is the actual tac," Hammer said Monday about the final fix on Tuesday, adding that they'd drill a hole to run the waterline to the nearby RV Park.

"There has been no impact to hospital operations since the temporary fix, and we expect none while the permanent fix is completed tomorrow," Gronning said Monday.

"Nothing broke," Hammer said, adding that on Tuesday, they would put a new cap on there and restrain it down.