City working to repair water main

A water line break on 10th Street South in Benson early this morning led to the city issuing a Code Red alert for a water emergency. It asked citizens to limit water use until 9:30 a.m. With the emergency now over, the city is working to repair the line. It is hoped that more water line breaks aren't in store this coming spring due to a lack of snowcover allowing frost levels to sink deep into the ground.
The leak was discovered about 4:15 a.m. by Benson police who then contacted the Public Works Department, which was on the job 15 mintues later. The water flow was fast enough and long enough from the leak that it caused the level in the Benson water tower to drop. The city suspects there was substantial damage done to the road that will likely require it being rebuilt this spring or summer.