In 2019, the City of Duluth saw 114 water main breaks. In 2020, there were 72 and so far this year, there have been 22.
According to Eric Shaffer, Chief Engineer of Utilities for the City of Duluth, pipes can last up to 100 years, but many in Duluth date back to the 1800's, so a number of them are reaching their lifespan, or have long passed it.
“We’ve got pipes already that are 104 years old. They are still going well and we’ve got pipes that are only 30 years old that are breaking already and so we cannot expect to get 100 out of everything, but we had to start somewhere so that’s our target,” Shaffer said.
At large, the City of Duluth has about 435 miles of water mains.
Moving forward, Shaffer said the city is working on a long term plan where their goal is to fix about four and a half miles of pipes—or 1% of total pipes—per year.
The Hidden Valley neighborhood is seen to have some of the worst pipes, therefore, Shaffer said city crews will work to repair these pipes this year.
Repairs will begin in May and end around November. The project is estimated to cost over one million dollars.
In the meantime, Shaffer said crews will repair additional pipes as needed, as well as, pipes that are more than 80 years old under streets that require repairs already.
“We have a policy where if we do a street project and a pipe is more than 80 years old, we will replace it so we aren’t sitting in the same boat 20 years from now,” Shaffer said.
According to Shaffer, each water main takes roughly 8-12 hours to repair, but can vary. He commends crews for their hard work during these cold conditions.
“Its very, very tough conditions right now. Not only is it cold and windy out, but the water main broke, so that means the hole they are working in is filling with water,” Shaffer said. “This is really the toughest condition that you’re ever going to see to try and go out in to dig a hole and fix a pipe.”
More information about water mains and efforts to repair them can be found here.
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February 12, 2021 at 05:57AM
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City officials provide update on water main breaks after fifth break in one week - WDIO
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