Overflowing Wis. water tower blamed on computer glitch
(Published Saturday, May 19, 2007 10:50:41 PM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Associated Press
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. - You might say the computerized controls were all wet when they kept filling a city water tower until it turned into a virtual gusher.
"It looked like a mushroom with water flowing over it," said Rory Olson, city water utilities manager.
Olson said a passerby noticed the water pouring over the top of the tower near Chippewa Falls Middle School in the early morning hours and called police earlier this month.
Olson, summoned to the tower about 4:15 a.m., also found water flowing from a side vent.
City Engineer Rick Rubenzer said the problem resulted from the failure of a control on a computer system.
"Pumps filling the water tower continued to run and were not told by the computer to stop," Rubenzer said. "The tank filled and bubbled over."
The city water tower had the exact opposite problem last Thanksgiving. In that incident, the computer system mistakenly indicated the tower was full and stopped pumping water.
The water level dropped low enough to cut service to part of the city.
