What happened
Round Rock City Council approved a $269,000 contract with Lewis Concrete Restoration Aug. 8, to repair a wastewater interceptor that has been punctured since 2007.
Michael Thane, executive director of Public Works, said in 2022 the 84-inch wastewater pipe was discovered to have been damaged. This has caused stormwater to flow into the pipe that is part of the Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant system, he said.
“Now we have inflow water flowing into the pipe that we’ve been having to treat. ... We don’t like to have to do that, because that’s treatment cost on the end at the plant,” Thane said.
City staff confirmed that the fiber line drilled into the pipe was an MCI, or Verizon, line.
The outlook
After the damage was discovered in 2022, Thane said instead of repairing the interceptor immediately, the city allowed Verizon to run another fiber line to avoid disrupting service to customers.
The cost of the repairs, according to city officials, is largely due to the safety precautions that have to be put in place. Thane said the 7-foot-wide pipe is 28 feet below ground, preventing crews from easily digging it up to plug the hole.
Lewis Concrete Restoration will use a manhole 960 feet away from the puncture to enter the pipe and make the repair. It will take roughly a week to prepare for the project and several hours to do the actual work.
The options
In order to recoup funds for the cost of the repairs, Thane told City Council that Verizon could pay for the cost of the work, or the city could calculate the inflow of water and charge the company for the cost of treating it. Discussions between the city and Verizon for the reimbursement of the repair cost are ongoing and have not been finalized, according to city documents.
“We intend to get that money back from Verizon,” Thane said.
What’s next
Thane said the city now has better technology in place to be able to detect breaches in large water lines, adding that the city will inspect lines for damage every five years.
