MOUNT VERNON — The city of Mount Vernon may have found a reason behind the recent water main breaks in the northern end.

City officials sent a piece of the pipe that burst to the Ductile Iron Pipe Association, which evaluated the pipe and told officials they believe the soil was the cause of the corrosion.

Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis said the pipe along Mansfield Road was put in around 1962 and that, as was done at that time, contractors did not backfill the hole with sand and gravel to protect the pipe. After placing the pipe in the ground, they would refill the hole with the dirt they had just dug.

“DIPA believes corrosion caused the weakening of the pipe and caused the holes,” Mavis said.

Mavis said new pipe has a thin concrete layer so it’s not as susceptible to corrosion as older pipe. He said the city has two areas where the older ductile iron pipe was put in without the backfill — the area near Mansfield Road and on the east end, south of Coshocton Avenue.

“We’ll need to start planning for the replacement of those pipes,” said Mavis.

Another project that will begin soon in the city is the brick curb project on McKenzie and McArthur streets. The city received six bids with two bids coming in well under the estimate of $249,710. Those bids will be evaluated and a contract will be given to the contractor soon. Mavis said the plan is for the project to be completed this fall.

In other news:

•Mavis said residents can begin dropping off their leaves at the Cougar Drive plant on Monday. The plant will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, to accept leaves. Residents can also take their leaves to the Thayer Road Compost Area on Saturday mornings. Mavis said they will begin picking up leaves around the city either the last week of October or first week of November.

•Mavis and other officials met with the Greater Downtown Management Council this past week to discuss parking and monitoring in the downtown area. No decisions have been made, but there was a lot of information discussed, including long-term parking, enforcement and the bike racks.

•Discussion was rekindled on the South Sandusky Street project. Mavis met with County Engineer Jim Henry and other officials, and looked at preliminary drawings of the road improvement project near the Kokosing River. One of the drawings involved following the dikeway to the viaduct and did not include building another bridge across the river. Mavis said that idea would cost about half the initial idea, and that money might be available for it around 2017 from the Small Cities program.

•Mavis said city council will discuss legislation Monday about getting $100,000 of stimulus money for work on the methane boiler at the wastewater treatment plant.