There has been very little change over the weekend to a leak discovered last Wednesday at the main water treatment plant. The amount of water seeping to the surface has increased slightly since first being discovered, but it remains a small leak.
The leak can be repaired after crews install a new bypass pipe through which water can be diverted into the treatment plant. The bypass allows the City to continue providing water while the primary pipe, which connects the City’s two primary water sources, is shut down for repairs. That shutdown will not occur until after the bypass pipe is operational.
Activity this weekend focused on the bypass pipe construction. The engineering, surveying, and construction teams finalized the design on Friday and began construction early Saturday morning. Construction crews have been working around the clock since that time and will continue to do so until the bypass pipe is constructed.
The first phase of construction was to tap the primary pipe, and that connection was finished this weekend. Piping has been constructed from that new connection and is partially complete. The construction and engineering teams are installing structural supports for the new bypass pipe, with some steel supports being fabricated on site.
Progress continues this morning. Overnight, crews were able to build the pipe to the top of a basin at the water treatment plant. Construction will continue to the point where the bypass pipe will discharge its water.
Construction on the bypass pipe may be complete as early as the end of the day Tuesday. That timeframe may change as construction proceeds.
