The new water line replacing the one that broke early Monday on Marshall Lane near Tennessee Rt. 70 (the Asheville Highway) should be operational today, Water Superintendent Laura White said Thursday afternoon.

White said the Water Department originally thought the line that broke was an eight-inch line. The Department discovered later it was really a six-inch ductile iron pipe.

The new six-inch water line is a 500-foot section to replace the broken section in the line, which could not be reached.

Water service was restored Tuesday to most customers, but not because the break was fixed.

The Water Department rerouted water to the area because, after digging 30 feet into the ground, the Water Department determined that the line could not be safely reached.

White said that, after digging 30 feet -- the height of a three-story building -- crews still had not located the water line.

The Water Department began Wednesday to lay a new water line, determining that the old line could not be repaired.

White told The Greeneville Sun Thursday afternoon that the new line had been tested and should be operational today.

She said that a Water Treatment Plant Lab Analyst confirmed that bacteriological samples were negative, meaning it is safe to put the line into service.

"When new lines are put in, after the lines are laid, the pipe has to be disinfected and the water held in the line for 24 hours," White said.

"The line is flushed and sampled for bacteria. If the results are negative for bacteria, the line can be placed into service," she explained.