After a bit more system downtime and a leak repair, we started gaining a bit in the out vs. in war. We’ve also been reconnected to our old well line and discontinued using the temporary above ground pipe. This morning we found a good sized ice flow in the road on the southern end of Hemlock. Pillsbury Excavating is on site now repairing that leak. Once complete, we’ll check the usage tonight and have a solid number by tomorrow night. If we’re in significantly better shape, we’ll have samples tested and hopefully lift the boil water notice once cleared.
We still anticipate, based on consumption, an additional one or two leaks. We’ve found some minor leaks (typically drips due to small splits forming ice on connections and valves), but not any significant enough to affect our overall demand. Heating cable/tape is critical to protecting the last foot or two of supply line and all of your connection line to the system. These heating elements should be replaced every 5 years, though often work well for 10. We’ve found 20 year old cable/tapes out there causing issues, and that’s a big part of the system failures this year. We discussed several ideas at Monday’s board meeting regarding standardizing, certifying, maintenance requirements and demarcation issues. We certainly don’t want a repeat of this winter on a yearly basis, so expect budget proposals to help address these issues.
