Emergency Water Line Repairs Continue On Anna Maria Island: County

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, FL — Customers of Manatee County Utilities on Anna Maria Island are being asked to curtail water usage where they can as crews investigate and repair a collapsed water main, according to a Manatee County news release.

The break will likely take weeks to repair, according to Manatee County Utilities Director Evan Pilachowski.

About 1,000 feet of 16-inch ductile iron pipe now sits on the bottom of the Anna Maria Sound after falling from a series of hangars that held the water main under the Manatee Avenue Bridge.

The county was alerted to a potential problem with some of the hangars on Friday, but by the time a repair crew was in place on Monday, the water main had fallen.

“This was a supplemental line,” Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge said.

A 24-inch main located under the Cortez Bridge is functioning as designed and maintaining about 80 percent water pressure to the island, he added. “Quick response from our county crews helped preserve that service.”

Nearly 4,200 residents were notified of the service interruption initially through a reverse 9-1-1 call Monday.

A local repair contractor has been contracted and engineers are researching the best way to complete repairs.