A previously unlabeled water bypass pipe with a 6-inch section of asbestos pipe was discovered at the site, said Greg Blackburn, an engineer with K Friese + Associates, at Rollingwood City Council’s Jan. 15 meeting. In order to move forward with water system improvements, engineers sought permission from council to remove the pipe, add new valves and complete additional tunneling work. Council voted unanimously to approve the changes.
The overview
Improvements being made to the water system at Hatley and Park Hills are a smaller part of the city’s Water System Capital Improvement Plan.
In November 2022, Rollingwood voters approved Proposition A, which set aside $5.3 million for improvements to the city’s water systems. Improvements needed were identified in the Water System Capital Improvement Plan, and require installing or replacing approximately 11,000 linear feet of waterlines, valves and hydrants throughout the city, according to the city’s website.
AO Services was selected as the contractor for the bond program in November 2023. AO was working on isolating the current water main and installing a new one in conjunction with the Water System Capital Improvement Plan when they discovered a previously unlabeled water bypass loop with a 6-inch section of asbestos pipe, according to city documents.
Mayor Gavin Massingill pointed to the bypass loop as a major problem inhibiting attempts to isolate water service in this region of the city.
“There has been a mystery a number of times where we’ve tried to turn things off and things just don’t turn off,” Massingill said. “We have no idea why they’re not turning off, and we feel like we may have found the culprit.”
The plan
The first part of the engineers’ plan will be to remove that loop and add additional valves, piping and connections so that the city can shut off water supply to that area of the city if needed, which would likely be for maintenance or if a water main breaks, Blackburn said.
The second part would involve additional tunneling work. The contractors found several wastewater lines that posed challenges when attempting to carve out trenches needed for their work, and this tunneling work would help to resolve that problem, Blackburn said.
In total, these changes will cost $76,880, and will be paid out of the city’s unexpended water fund balance.
In September, additional costs were also added to the Capital Improvement Plan after conflicts were presented on projects near Nixon/Pleasant Drive and Hubbard Circle/Hatley Drive. Adjustments were made for unexpected intersections with existing sewer lines, costing the city $121,143, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
At that time, the overall cost of the drainage improvements had increased to 6.6 million after several conflicts were discovered, Blackburn said.
What’s next?
The existing asbestos pipe will need to be bagged and then removed, after which it will be taken to a landfill. This will allow for water isolation to Brett Cove as well as Park Hills Drive and Hatley Drive in case of a water main break, Blackburn said.
A project schedule for water system updates is available on Rollingwood’s website. Updated schedules show engineers being fully done with the Capital Improvement Plan in July, Blackburn said.
