MAY 21 UPDATE

Holes excavated along the new main for replacement of defective fittings.

Replacement of defective service saddles on the new main is in progress today. It appears now that this work will continue into Thursday. As of 1:00 pm this afternoon 11 defective saddles have been replaced.

Expect activities in the street tomorrow to be similar to today.

Arnie Peterschmidt

MAY 20 UPDATE

A defective service saddle on the new Pioneer Way main

The Pioneer Way Water Main Replacement project has encountered its second significant problem. The new main has not been able to pass a pressure test; the main gradually looses pressure when tested. According to Interwest Construction, some of the service saddles (pipe fittings used to connect individual customer services to the main) have a manufacturing defect that prevents them from sealing properly. The supplier and manufacturer of the service saddles are working to resolve the problem and replace the defective saddles. Interwest Construction will uncover all of the saddles tomorrow to inspect and replace those that are defective. This work is being done at no additional cost to the City.

The leaking service saddles have caused a one-day delay to date and it is expected to take one or two more days to replace those that are defective and re-test the main. The project remains ahead of schedule despite these delays.

Expect Interwest Construction to be on site with traffic control starting about 6:30am Wednesday morning. A vactor truck (a huge wet-dry vacuum cleaner mounted on a truck) will be used to expose service saddles. Two-way traffic is expected most of the time with lanes shifted to the south side of Pioneer Way.

Arnie Peterschmidt

MAY 19 UPDATE

Interwest Construction installing a new sewer service near Ireland Street. The yellow pipe is a natural gas main.

Testing of the new water main began this morning. The disinfection procedure for the pipe was checked by City staff this morning and found to be acceptable. Pressure testing also began this morning. The pressure test is simple but demanding. The new main and fittings are subjected to 250 PSI pressure and must hold with virtually no pressure loss. A gradual loss of pressure was occurring on the first attempt. A defective service saddle was subsequently found and will be replaced before repeating the pressure test tomorrow morning.

Other activities today included correcting a poorly configured sewer service near Ireland Street.

Expect Interwest Construction to be on site with traffic control starting about 6:00am Tuesday morning. Pressure testing will resume. When the pressure test is passed, the new main will be flushed with clean water and water samples will be collected and tested for the presence of bacteria. The new main will be ready for service upon receipt of “satisfactory” bacteriological tests. Bacteriological tests are “satisfactory” when bacteria are not detected.

Arnie Peterschmidt

MAY 16 UPDATE

One of the last sections of water main pipe going into the trench.

The last length of water main pipe was installed this afternoon near the Ely Street intersection. The new main is filled with chlorinated water and will “soak” over the weekend. We are planning to pressure test the new pipe on Monday morning.

Expect Interwest Construction to be on site with traffic control starting at 6:00am Monday morning.

Arnie Peterschmidt

MAY 15 UPDATE

Water main installation in the Dock to Ely block.


Work resumed on the water main installation today. Approximately 140 feet of pipe was installed in the block between Dock and Ely streets. Interwest Construction anticipates that, if all goes well tomorrow, all of the water main pipe will be in place except for short segments connecting the new main with the existing system.

The next steps in the project are filling the pipe with water and testing it. The pipe will be filled with chlorinated water intended to disinfect the pipe before it is put into service. The chlorine solution will be tested for adequate strength when the pipe is filled and again before the chlorine is flushed out. While the chlorine solution is in the pipe, a pressure test will be conducted to confirm that the pipes and fittings are properly assembled and water tight. After the disinfection process is competed and the chlorine flushed out, water samples from the pipe will be collected and sent to an independent laboratory to be tested for the presence of bacteria. This is done to confirm that the disinfection process was effective.

The activities involved in filling and testing the new main will not be as disruptive as the installation work. Lanes will be shifted at one or two locations when testing work is occurring but 2-way traffic movement is expected. It may be necessary to close a block or intersection for about an hour while flushing the chlorinated water from the pipe as this will require a large hose across the street. Date, time and location for this activity will be posted here on this blog when known.

Arnie Peteschmidt

May 14 MORNING UPDATE

Interwest Construction elected not work on the water main today due to the wet weather. The existing drainage system funnels storm water into the trench excavated for the water main installation. The storm water in the trench becomes muddy and thus can not be released to the storm drainage system and the Bay.

Interwest Construction will be coming to the site later this morning to move their heavy equipment off of Pioneer Way to free up travel and parking.

Arnie Peterschmidt

MAY 13 UPDATE

Heavy equipment parked on Pioneer waiting for dryer weather

Water pipe installation was halted late this morning by wet weather. The trench was filling with storm water as the rainfall increased to the point that it was interfering with progress. Approximately 80 feet of pipe was installed. Work will resume as usual tomorrow morning weather permitting.

Please be cautious driving or walking on wet steel plates, wet plates are very slick!

Arnie Peterschmidt