On Aug. 8, the pipeline was found leaking into Lake Travis, according to Leander city documents. The leak was discovered on a portion of the 36-inch raw water pipe that was repaired back in 2021.
Leander Executive Director of Infrastructure Dan Grimbso said at the Sept. 1 council meeting that the leak is worsening.
“We’re moving as fast as possible,” he said.
The size of the leak is approximated at 1 million gallons per day, or 3% of the pipe capacity, according to Leander’s documents. Cedar Park Assistant City Manager Sam Roberts said the leak will warrant immediate repair.
A Thalle/SAK joint venture—who has a marine subcontractor, Global International—will be conducting the repair on the pipeline.
The contractors completed an underwater assessment of the leak Aug. 19, Roberts said, and put together a repair plan, which is not 100% finalized.
Work on the pipeline leak repair is anticipated to begin in mid-September and is expected to take one to two weeks.
The repair will cost $1.6 million, which was approved by BCRUA at its Aug. 24 meeting.
Roberts said outdoor watering restrictions are planned for member cities in the BCRUA—Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock—during the repair period.
“I think we have a good plan; we definitely have a great team to do the work,” Roberts said at the Aug. 25 Cedar Park City Council meeting. “We’re very confident it’s going to be a good job.”
