By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
Moapa Valley Water District crews have had to deal with a rash of unexpected pipeline repairs over the past month. What’s more, there are fears that these may not be the last of the major repairs needed. And with the high-demand summer months right around the corner, the timing for these problems couldn’t be worse.
It all started around midday on March 18. MVWD crews responded to a report that a main water line had broken on Henrie Road in Moapa, close to the Ute Perkins Elementary School. Turns out, it wasn’t just any break. This was the 24-inch diameter pipeline that is the central spine of the MVWD distribution system.
This ductile iron pipe carries water from the huge storage tanks in Moapa, for 11 miles, all the way down to Wells Road on the north end of Logandale. That pipeline supplies water to the distribution system that feeds homes and businesses all along the way, including the entire lower valley community.
Repairs to this line are not simple affairs. Crews worked about 18 hours to get the repairs made to the line in this first incident near Perkins Elementary. Finally, everything was fixed…they thought.
But only three hours later, another break to the same line was reported nearby in the ground under the Moapa Park. All of this left the district a bit low on parts storage for making these types of repairs.
Then on March 31, yet another segment of the same line sprung a leak. This time it was in a particularly difficult spot for MVWD crews to work: a remote area known as The Narrows, along the Muddy River about halfway between Glendale and Logandale.
In all three of these incidents, it was noted that the metal pipe material had become rusted and corroded to the point that it just burst. With ductile iron pipe normally expected to last more than 50 years, MVWD officials suspect that the pipe used to build the line back in 1996 may have been faulty in its manufacture.
“On that last break in The Narrows, we have ductile iron pipe right next to it that was installed back in 1975,” said MVWD General Manager Joe Davis during a meeting of the district’s board of directors on Thursday, April 14. “That pipe still looks brand new and we have had no leaks on it. But this ‘96 pipe, in the exact same soil conditions, has experienced degradation and you can see where there are metallurgy problems.”
If the pipe is faulty, then there could be many more repairs to come all along this vitally important line, Davis said. So MVWD officials have already begun to prepare for the worst.
At last week’s meeting, Davis asked the board to ratify nearly $38,000 in expenses made to purchase repair parts for the 24-inch line. Those parts were ordered after the first two line breaks.
But after the third break, Davis decided to more fully stock up on the parts. “Because of all of this, we decided to double up the order so that we will have parts in stock ready to go,” Davis said. “It has become very difficult to acquire parts and it takes sometimes 12-15 weeks to get them. So next month you will see another of this exact same order back on the agenda again asking for ratification.”
But that won’t be all. Davis said that he has been making plans, and placing orders, to do some mitigation on the lines in preparation for the high-demand summer months.
Davis explained that the 24-inch line was originally installed as a replacement to the original 14-inch line that fed the community. The older line is still there and has the capacity to supply the community’s water needs during the eight months between mid-September and mid-May. But once the summer rolls around, that smaller line just can’t keep up with the heavier demand.
“If we are going to see mass failures on this 24-inch pipe, we just cannot push enough water on the old lines during the summertime to keep the lower valley in water as it is,” Davis told the board.
So Davis has come up with a plan to install a series of interconnects between the two lines. That way, if a section of the 24-inch line breaks, it can be isolated and the flow can be routed around the break to the smaller line for a time while it is fixed. Davis said he is confident that this would increase the flow coming through to the lower valley. What’s more, it would buy the MVWD crews a little time to make repairs while keeping the community in water, Davis said.
“That way we would still use the good sections of 24-inch line, pop it over into the smaller line for as short of a run as possible, and then pull it back into the 24-inch,” Davis said. “The goal is to keep the flow up so that, even though we might still be drafting out of the tanks in the lower valley, we wouldn’t run out of water during peak usage in the evening. And we could fill the tanks back up overnight as demand decreases.”
If this should happen during the summer months, Davis said that the district would deploy a public notification system placing a restriction on all outdoor water usage while the line is being repaired.
These notifications would be sent via text message, phone calls and emails to all MVWD customers. It would merely advise customers of the situation and inform them of the temporary outdoor water use restriction while the repairs were ongoing.
The only concern with that plan is that, when such a notification is made, it could cause the public to panic.
“We saw it in September of 2014 when the flood hit and took out I-15 at Glendale,” Davis said. “For some reason a rumor went around that we were running out of water. All of a sudden everyone was hoarding water someplace. We didn’t even know where it was all going. We went from pumping 3200 gallons per minute (gpm) all the way up to 7,000 gpm and the tanks were still dropping drastically. And in that case, there was no need for it. We were in water.”
Davis said that this panic impulse, in the case of a 24-inch line break during the summer months, could be catastrophic if the public isn’t prepared in advance.
“The public needs to know that, if we have a break like that this summer, it doesn’t mean we have an emergency water shortage,” Davis said. “It just means that we have our flow restricted for a time while we get things fixed. That’s okay! Just turn off outdoor watering for a while and everything will be fine.”
“But if people start a panic situation where everyone is rushing to fill up anything and everything they have with water,” Davis added, “well, then we could real quick have a problem.”
Davis said that if a major line break should occur during the summer, the district has the capability to send out a mass notification via text message, phone call and email to all of its customers. This message would merely advise customers of the situation and impose a temporary outdoor water use restriction while the repairs are ongoing.
“We just will need a little help from the public while we get it fixed,” Davis said.
Davis is also working on a more permanent fix to the problem. Unfortunately, that may require a full replacement of large stretches of the 24-inch line. The district is identifying about 9,000 feet of the line that may need the most immediate attention. But even that has become a very costly proposition.
“Back in 1995 we installed all 54,000 feet of that line for $2.4 million,” Davis said. “Nowadays, just the 9,000 feet we are proposing would cost more than $3 million.”
Davis said that he has already been in touch with members of Nevada’s U.S. Congressional delegation for help on that expense through a federal matching grant. “We may get some help that way,” he said.
Davis also has been in contact with legal experts regarding possible litigation against the manufacturer of the faulty pipe materials. Attorneys were in attendance at last week’s meeting and spent time consulting with the board on the matter during a closed door session.
