Water leak flowed for days

The Town of Black Diamond faced several hurdles as it attempted to fix a burst pipeline beneath Highway 22 that gushed water for more than a week.

CAO Sharlene Brown said the significant leak was initially discovered through the town’s meter system on Feb. 25, but they didn’t find the source until three days later.

“When we first found out about the leak it wasn’t surfacing, it was going down into the ground so we couldn’t find it,” she said. “Until the water started surfacing we didn’t know where it was.”

The leak was under Highway 22 (Government Road) at 5th Avenue SW, but the Town couldn’t proceed with repairs until it received approval by Alberta Transportation, Brown said.

“Unfortunately, because it’s in the highway it takes a little bit longer because we have to have approval from Alberta Transportation to close a portion of the highway and close off traffic,” she said. “If it’s on a residential street it can be addressed way quicker than having a water leak adjacent to the highway.”

Several factors must be considered when dealing with a water main break along the highway within a town’s boundaries, Brown said. Among them is detouring large vehicles onto residential streets.

“Highway traffic is one of those pieces that we have to address when we deal with construction on the highway,” she said.

Work to repair the break, caused by the ground freezing and thawing, was delayed when the town received several inches of snow March 2. Repairs didn’t begin until March 6.

“Water was leaking that whole time,” she said, adding the Town will know how much water was lost at the end of March.

Water leaks is an issue the Town began addressing last year after learning the loss accounting for 51 per cent of the water the Town was purchasing from the Sheep River Regional Utility Corporation (SRRUC), which supplies Black Diamond, Turner Valley and the surrounding MD of Foothills with water.

Throughout the summer and fall, maintenance crews repaired leaks at Parkview Place and Crescent, 5th Avenue SW and the back lane behind the municipal building. Some of the pipelines exceed 60 years.

“We did a whole bunch of work over the summer and our consumption has gone way down,” said Brown. “This is just a seasonal piece. It’s just like any other municipality.

“We do go through our share of water leaks in the season. With aging infrastructure it’s bound to happen.”

From 2013 to 2016, the Town’s resource time and efforts went towards flood mitigation following the 2013 flood that wiped out the town’s water treatment plant, said Brown.

The Town budgeted for $1.5 million in water-related infrastructure in 2017, with a focus on water loss. Town council is currently discussing how much will be allocated the 2018 budget, said Brown.

Black Diamond administration conducted an infrastructure study in 2015 and 2016, which looked at the age of the pipes, water flow, pressure and noise and videos and will use the study to determine priorities in coming years, said Brown.