REPAIRS UNDERWAY
Phase one complete at Eddy’s Lane water station, phase two begins
Mayor Carmella Mantello and City Engineer Russ Reeves announced the completion of phase one to repair damage in the Eddy’s Lane Pump Station which services about 100,000 people.
“It’s not sexy, and it’s not a new project etcetera, but our infrastructure is key. It’s our backbone, our skeleton for everything else,” Mantello said on Friday. “We need to ensure that our drinking water is safe (and) that it’s not rupturing.”
On Jan. 5, Mantello made an emergency declaration to repair the damaged pipe, pumps and valves in the station. By Friday, the city had replaced a 12-inch valve, repaired a 24-inch gate valve and packed a leaking 700 horsepower pump.
Phase two, repairing the damaged water main pipe, will begin now and be completed in the next month or two. The pipe, which is 30 inches in diameter, is severely deteriorated and has a large bulging section that if ruptured would cause an outage for areas in Troy and the eight other municipalities it serves.
The pipe pumps about 20 million gallons a day, Mantello said, and with the phase one repairs, they are saving 14,000 gallons a day.
The pipe replacement presents a different problem than the valves as it will require shutting off the water through that section of pipe. Evaluation of the pipe will start Tuesday while planning to replace it begins now because the day they replace the section of pipe, they will only have 12 hours to do so.
When the water is shut off, Reeves explained, there is a storage tank that will supply water to Troy and the other municipalities that use the water main. That tank can hold 12 hours worth of what the area and the fire department will use or need.
When the day comes to replace the section — which Mantello said would be thoroughly communicated with all the residents and businesses — the water pressure will likely go down, but there will still be water that is safe to use. The tim
Phase two, repairing the damaged water main pipe, will begin now and be completed in the next month or two. T he pipe, which is 30 inches in diameter, is severely deteriorated and has a large bulging section that if ruptured would cause an outage for areas in Troy and the eight other municipalities it serves.
ing, Reeves said, has to be just right.
“If anyone’s ever seen Ocean’s 11 — we won’t be seeing anyone come down from the ceiling — but saying that, it’s gotta happen during that 12 hours because they are using the extra tank,” Mantello said. “Meticulous timing.”
For phase two, the city will coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security, the Troy Fire Department and the Department of Health to make sure the multiple communities that this pipe services will be kept in the loop and have safe water.
The pipe which is an intake pipe that pulls from the water plant, Reeves said, is severely corroded and deteriorated. It is a compound curve — two joined curves where one is smaller than the other — and is delaminating, meaning it is fracturing into layers, and is at a higher risk of a sudden rupture, he said.
To fix it, they’ll also have to put in supports for the concrete floor in the station and then cut it out to get access to the problem section about five-and-a-half feet below the floor. It will be replaced with a new, fully welded steel pipe, Reeves said.
He said they will also be going through all the pipes, removing the rust and corrosion and painting them with direct-to-metal, marine-grade paint which decreases the likelihood of corrosion. The pipes above the ground have already been painted.
Mantello said they aren’t trying to fearmonger or cause panic, but they want people to understand why they both felt an emergency declaration was necessary to get the project rolling. By declaring an emergency, they were able to move quickly, get contractors in immediately to assess the situation and fix it as fast as possible.
Reeves said phase one had cost in the ballpark of $50,000, and Mantello thanked the City Council — President Sue Steele and Majority Leader Tom Casey were both in attendance — for the budgeting they will do when the project is fully completed. Mantello said they will be sending requests for outside funding as well to cover the project.
It has been leaking for about a year and a half, she said which is just unacceptable. This is one of the first things employees brought to Reeves’ attention when he started.
“Our employees have stepped up to the plate and we want to thank them obviously, you know, for not holding anything back,” Mantello said. “We need to know now, we need to address these issues as soon as possible.
“We’re super satisfied with the first phase, (the) second phase (is) more complex,” she continued. “The first week, we took the bull by the horn, and here we are today.”