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Deep freeze takes toll on waterlines
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - February 11, 2009)
Deep freeze takes toll on waterlines
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
The Chardon Water Department could use a break but not the kinds it has been seeing in the last couple weeks.
"We need the weather to change to help us out," said Gayland Moore, the city's public service director. He said he hopes the weather will begin warming, a change from the bitterly cold temperatures that have plagued the city's waterlines.
Crews were out the entire weekend of Jan. 30 and 31 to repair leaks caused by the extreme cold. While crews were busy repairing three leaks along Maple Avenue, they were called to Cherry Avenue and Goodrich Court to deal with frozen lines.
Repairs to leaks are handled by the use of band clamps to seal them. Frozen pipes are another matter and can be handled in a variety of ways, Mr. Moore said.
On Goodrich Court, he said, crews took the line that was buried shallow and laid it deeper in the ground. Hot water from a tank was used to thaw lines on Cherry Avenue, he said. Welders also have been used to thaw pipes, he said.
While the city has had its share of leaks caused by the extreme cold, Mr. Moore said, it has seen far worse years. One year, he said, the city contended with 168 leaks and then 186 leaks the following year.
Burton Village, which maintains its own municipal water system, like Chardon, has fared a little better this year.
Jennell Dahlhausen, village deputy administrator, said the village experienced two waterline breaks, but only one affected village crews. She said about two weeks ago, crews contended with a break on Garden Street. The only other waterline break occurred inside a business on North Cheshire Street.
She said crews were able to fix the break in a couple of hours, restoring water to about 10 to 15 households at the end of the street.
And, while crews did not have to repair the business water break, it did affect the village. She said the water that poured out, still went into the city's sewer system and contributed to the total that had to be treated at the city's waste-water treatment plant.
While Mr. Moore is hoping for warmer weather, that warm spell cannot be followed by another chill.
He said frigid temperatures that are followed by a warm spell and then followed by extreme cold will generally only make matters worse.
Mr. Moore said the frost that penetrates the ground, goes even deeper in those scenarios.
The tremendous amount of snow the city receives actually helps the situation, he said. Mr. Moore said snow acts as an insulator, keeping temperatures constant below it.
When that snow is plowed away, he said, the ground can heave, or shift, and it is that shifting that causes the pipes to break.
He said Maple Avenue has had approximately 15 leaks over the past five years and that number increased with this winter's weather. However, he said, those waterlines are scheduled to be replaced in 2011 as part of the city's capital-improvement projects.
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