Friday’s Water Leak – What Happened and How We Fixed It

At about 6:30 a.m. on Friday morning, my wife noticed the water pressure was low while brushing her teeth. Within seconds, I checked my phone and found a myriad of texts, calls, and emails from people around town saying they had low or no water at all.

Cancelled my work calls for the day, I guess its water time!

I quickly got dressed, messaged Keith and Mundon, and headed up to check the tanks. Sure enough, the main tank was completely empty, and the intake was struggling to keep up. We knew there had to be a leak somewhere, but we didn’t yet know where.

Because the town was already on a boil water advisory, I posted an update on Facebook letting everyone know the water service was down and to expect it to be out until we could figure out what was wrong.

Finding the Leak

We opened up the creek intake and the tank to push more water into the system while we searched. As we drove around town, I got a text from a neighbor the leak had spotted along the main line near 420 McCleod.

When I arrived, I could see the ground had shifted and a puddle had formed. We had found the problem. Now, the challenge was finding an excavator. We called around and finally managed to get one for the morning.

By this point, everyone had low pressure around town, and the homes at the top of the hill had no water at all.

Digging Down and Discovering the Problem

When the excavator arrived, we began digging. We expected to find a 4" black pipe about six feet down, Instead, after draining the water from the hole and digging nearly nine feet deep, we uncovered a 6" PVC main line.

Once the pipe was exposed, we found a long crack running for about 48" along the base of it. This pipe was installed roughly 30 years ago and is likely nearing the end of its life, and that’s assuming it was new when it went in. (If anyone can tell me otherwise please reach out)

The Parts Problem

We didn’t have any safe-to-use 6" pipe in stock. Any pieces we had were old and had been sitting out in the elements for years and have never been included in our inventory.

I called EMCO in Cranbrook, and even though they were about to close in 15 minutes, they offered to come back in if we could send someone for the parts we needed. Thankfully, a family member of one of our board members happened to be driving through Cranbrook. They were able to pick up exactly what we needed:

• Two 6" couplers at $850.00 each

• 20 feet of 6" pipe $450.00 (which we had to cut into smaller pieces for transport)

Unfortunately, you can’t buy just six feet of pipe. So we now have some stored properly for future use.

Making the Repair

Keith started cutting the pipe while the rest of us prepped the site. Thankfully, the parts fit perfectly. We installed everything, pressured up the system, and had water flowing again just in time for dinner.

In total:

• 3 board members volunteered for 12 hours each to coordinate, help dig, make repairs, and make sure the rest of the system was in operation while we managed this leak.

• We hired an excavator operator for about 12 hours (bill pending).

• Parts cost: $2,302.09, which had to be covered on personal credit so we could make the repair right away.

Staying Informed and Helping Out

We know how frustrating outages can be, and we’re committed to being as transparent as possible about what’s happening with our water system. If you’d like to volunteer or learn more about our long-term plans, please reach out.

Every water bill we send each year includes both my personal phone number and Russell Faulkner’s. We’re always happy to help guide you in staying informed about the system and its challenges.

This week, we’ll be holding a meeting to set the date for our Annual General Meeting (AGM). I’d love to see the community come together for this, it’s a chance to better understand our unique water system, the challenges we face, and the steps we need to take to keep it strong.

We have a truly unique system with exceptionally high-quality water. If we want to keep this system in community hands, we all need to stay informed and understand the responsibilities that come with being a property owner within the Kitchener Improvement District.

Thank you,

Jon Delcaro

KID Secretary – SWS Operator