Water main breaks shifting
Author: Jordan Press
Source: http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1474179
The number of water main breaks in Kingston this year looks to rival last year's figures, but where the breaks are happening could change in the years to come.
Approximately two-thirds of the leaks are occurring in the central part of Kingston, which has the oldest infrastructure in the city. Repairing each break costs between $5,000 and $10,000.
The remaining third are taking place in the west end, where infrastructure is nearing the end of its life cycle.
Utilities Kingston president Jim Keech said that while the central city's infrastructure is in poor shape, money has been spent to repair and replace antiquated mains.
The west end needs a similar investment, he said.
"If we don't start planning replacement upgrades in that area now, you wait 20 years and it's going to be a mess," Keech said.
A provincial organization representing water and sewer pipe contractors says cities need to spend more on repairing aging water pipes that are neglected because they are not visible.
"They're taken for granted," said Frank Zechner, executive director of the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association, which locally represents members with the Kingston Construction Association.
A water main break, he said, can do more damage than just draining the system of pressure. In some cases, water has leaked into electrical rooms, taking out power to buildings and city blocks, he said.
Other leaks have taken out underground electrical and tele - communications infrastructure, Zechner said.
He said weather patterns so far in 2009 have created ripe conditions for a bad season.
"The indication is we're getting more and severe breaks this year," Zechner said.
The freeze-thaw cycle that takes place in March and April causes breaks in water pipes, especially those that are old.
As pipes reach the end of their life cycles, they become more brittle and prone to fractures.
Pipes dating to the 19th century are also more apt to leak. The city has spent millions to repair and replace pipes in recent years.
The city began reporting water main breaks in its report card to citizens in 2000. That year, there were 66 breaks per 100 kilometres of pipe. That number decreased to 10.7 in 2006, with 2005 recording the fewest breaks at 1.4.
The 2007 numbers, the most recent figures provided by the city, show that breaks per 100 kilometres of pipe increased to 14.6. The report card for 2007 states that "better leak detection -- together with an aging infrastructure" caused the increase.
Keech said so far this year there have been 21 reported breaks, most of them in Strathcona Park. None of the breaks, he said, was of the ordinary.
Last year, he said, there were 80 reported breaks.
Each break causes a leak that reduces water pressure and adds service costs to the city. Keech said Utilities Kingston hasn't put a dollar figure on what those leaks cost the system each year.
Zechner's group estimates that, provincewide, the total number of leaks adds about $160 million in operating costs to taxpayers.
"You could replace a lot of pipe with that," he said.
Utilities Kingston slated almost $30 million for water main work in the three-year capital budget that started last year. That includes about $650,000 for replacing defective, or undersized, mains and nearly $5 million to protect pipes from corrosion and bursting.
Money for leak testing and repairs is rolled into the annual operating budget for the water system, which this year is just over $9.4 million.
Water main facts
* Repair work on water main breaks in Kingston can cost between $5,000 and $10,000.
* Kingston averages 80 breaks a year.
* Water main breaks often coincide with asphalt potholes, as the holes are a source of sonic shock that is transmitted to the pipes.
* The majority of water main breaks occur at night. Pipes are at their maximum pressure in the wee hours of the morning due to reduced water demand, and a brittle pipe is more likely to break or leak when under higher pressure.
Sources: Utilities Kingston; Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association.
