Lightning strikes, village loses 200k gallons of water

A lightning strike hit a Village of Magdalena well pipe, causing the loss of 200,000 gallons of water, according to Mayor Richard Rumpf.

“Friday night, we had a lightning strike up by the tanks, and it blew out the piece of pipe,” Rumpf said, “We lost all the water, and the guys worked out there all night to get it hooked up and get the tanks filled. The lightning strike blew about a three-foot hole in the ground.”

Rumpf said a passerby spotted water flowing downhill and alerted him and the village utility manager began investigating using their computer system. Upon reaching the site, Rumpf discovered a significant hole in the ground where the line had blown out.

“A lot of the old pipe is ductable cast iron, so it was a really good grounding spot for the lightning to hit,” Rumpf said.

He said the village utility workers rapidly repaired the pipe Friday night and allowed the tanks to fill, restoring water to the Village on Saturday.