The Bremen Town Council discussed the replacement of a water main that services Lake City Bank the hospital, and Precision Painting on State Road 331.
Crews worked to repair a water main at that location several weeks ago, but it was a temporary fix. The issue was found after water department crews conducted annual fire hydrant flushing at the beginning of May. Workers from all town departments worked together to get water to accommodate the hospital with the addition of a valve, but there are two businesses that have been without service for a while.
Engineer Ken Jones from Jones Petrie and Rafinski told the town council that while it is an emergency to fix the problem, there is the matter of how the main pipe was damaged. He said the pipe had a hole in it as the pipe had lost its coating. He said it appeared that the soil was directly exposed to the pipe and the soil may have had a corrosive effect on the steel pipe. He believes that the entire line from High Road to the river needs to be replaced as it could have the same corrosive damage which is about 1,300 feet.
It will be replaced with PVC to avoid corrosion.
Jones noted that this is a critical run of the town’s network and a supporting line and needs to be addressed.
Jones said two contractors were contacted for an emergency deployment including Selge Construction and HRP. Selge Construction was available to do the work and the council unanimously approved an estimate of $387,630. They also approved the contract for the project pending review by Town Attorney Anthony Wagner.
Two easements needed to be acquired to conduct this work which was granted.
Water Department Superintendent Henry Aguayo said until everything is fixed, they have been accommodating drinking water to the affected businesses as well as wastewater needs.
In an update Thursday, June 6, Lake City Bank’s service has been restored. Crews are working around utilities so the process is moving slowly, but once the intricate work is complete, the project should move fairly quickly and should be done within the next two weeks.
