DeKalb residents and businesses
learned the hard way with the recent water main break and boil water advisory
the reason our county must finance infrastructure upgrades. However, the
general public needs to understand in laymen’s term how small errors in the
recent water main break created a countywide crisis.
We met with the owner of GS
Construction, Alessandro Salvo, in February 2015 concerning an issue and
conflict with specification W-019 on covering the water main after repair with
Watershed and Capital Improvement Project (CIP) administrators.
Salvo started warning DeKalb early in the year of potential problems with the installation of water mains using #57 stone as bedding and backfill. However, the warnings were met with acts of retaliation such as multiple inspections, slow payment, bad references and mischaracterization of the private business to another county, etc.
Salvo started warning DeKalb early in the year of potential problems with the installation of water mains using #57 stone as bedding and backfill. However, the warnings were met with acts of retaliation such as multiple inspections, slow payment, bad references and mischaracterization of the private business to another county, etc.
We wrote a report on the
specifications on water main installation and requested a meeting to avoid
legal actions, harm to the public and poor media exposure. The report was
addressed to ICEO Lee May and Executive Administrator Zachary Williams. We are
writing this article in an attempt to explain, in layman terms, the past errors
and warnings the general public must know about the water main break to prevent
future water main breaks that create countywide crisis to include:
1. What set up the crisis? The
following factors are alleged:
a. The biggest factor is the status
of the water system itself.
b. There are 5 large mains leaving the Scott Candler Treatment plant.
c. The 5 large mains are as follows:
b. There are 5 large mains leaving the Scott Candler Treatment plant.
c. The 5 large mains are as follows:
1. 30” Tilly Mill >Peachtree
Corner>Claremont
2. 30” Tilly Mill>under old GM plant>N. Peachtree
3. 54” P’tree industrial to Winters Chapel
4. 48” P’tree industrial>Winters Chapel >Chamblee Tucker>Mercer Univ.
5. 48” Oakdale>N. Crest >Chamblee Tucker>Henderson Mill>Northlake
2. 30” Tilly Mill>under old GM plant>N. Peachtree
3. 54” P’tree industrial to Winters Chapel
4. 48” P’tree industrial>Winters Chapel >Chamblee Tucker>Mercer Univ.
5. 48” Oakdale>N. Crest >Chamblee Tucker>Henderson Mill>Northlake
d. Only 1 of these 5 mains is
functioning properly, #4. Number 4 is the main (water main) that caused the
crisis last month.
e. The problems with the 4 water mains, 1, 2, 3 and 5, are as follows:
e. The problems with the 4 water mains, 1, 2, 3 and 5, are as follows:
1. #1 has valves turned off and all
indications are that the County does not know which valves, nor where they are.
2. #2 has been shut down for some time due to a slip lining failure. It’s the famous line that had a lane of I-85 shut down for months last year.
3. #3 has valves turned off and all indications are that the County does not know which valves nor where they are.
4. #5 has valves turned off and all indications are that the County does not know which valves nor where they are.
2. #2 has been shut down for some time due to a slip lining failure. It’s the famous line that had a lane of I-85 shut down for months last year.
3. #3 has valves turned off and all indications are that the County does not know which valves nor where they are.
4. #5 has valves turned off and all indications are that the County does not know which valves nor where they are.
f. The proof that there are multiple
valves shut off is the fact that the entire County lost water when #4 water
main was depressurized.
g. If the system was functioning properly we should have been able to isolate the section at Henderson Mill and Evans for repair while the other mains rerouted the water to the rest of the County.
g. If the system was functioning properly we should have been able to isolate the section at Henderson Mill and Evans for repair while the other mains rerouted the water to the rest of the County.
2. What is the County doing to
address this issue? Time to ask questions and demand results.
3. What amplified July’s hydrant hit
into a countywide crises? It is alleged:
a. County crews lacked experience
working with these particularly difficult conditions.
b. County crews were sent out with inadequate equipment.
b. County crews were sent out with inadequate equipment.
1. No shoring equipment;
2. Excavator was too small to reach down to the shutoff valve;
3. County supplied pumps failed. More than 10 pumps were brought to the site including 2 $70,000 8” Thompson pumps. 7 of the 10 pumps were useless, including the 8” pumps.
4. Bureaucratic decision to re-pressurize the main before the valve could be reached, causing considerably more damage than was necessary.
2. Excavator was too small to reach down to the shutoff valve;
3. County supplied pumps failed. More than 10 pumps were brought to the site including 2 $70,000 8” Thompson pumps. 7 of the 10 pumps were useless, including the 8” pumps.
4. Bureaucratic decision to re-pressurize the main before the valve could be reached, causing considerably more damage than was necessary.
4. Warning: poor water main maintenance,
lack of industry knowledge, poor working equipment and poor leadership will
make water main repair problems more frequent and the “norm” instead of the
exception. It is alleged:
a. We are one errant tunnel bore,
one excavator bucket away from an even larger crisis. If a contractor who is
drilling/boring or a contractor excavating strikes the 48” main then that will
be the beginning of another huge crisis. We will be without running water for
God knows how long while it is repaired.
b. If the only fully functioning transmission main #4 is actually struck, the County will be without water for days while it is repaired.
c. In addition, during the repair, the entire County water system will be completely drained.
d. This will cause an even bigger health crisis than the last time.
e. Many portions of the line will have to be sanitized before they will be safe, costing taxpayers’ huge amounts of money.
f. Re-pressurizing of the entire system will cause multiple line breaks that will need to be repaired at great expense.
b. If the only fully functioning transmission main #4 is actually struck, the County will be without water for days while it is repaired.
c. In addition, during the repair, the entire County water system will be completely drained.
d. This will cause an even bigger health crisis than the last time.
e. Many portions of the line will have to be sanitized before they will be safe, costing taxpayers’ huge amounts of money.
f. Re-pressurizing of the entire system will cause multiple line breaks that will need to be repaired at great expense.
5. Having thousands of residents and
businesses in DeKalb County sitting in this dangerous situation while the
County plays political games and favorites with the Watershed department is
irresponsible.
6. We immediately need proper leadership
at Watershed Management.
7. It is alleged that the last
experienced man left at Watershed is XXXX XXXXX. He will be retiring in
December. He is the most qualified man for the position based on his experience
level with the County water system. Every effort should be made to retain his
services.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/276025761/DeKalb-Water-Main-Break-An-After-Action-Report-to-Prevent-Past-Errors
Comments
City and
County governments are getting failing grades for their most important
functions while they are spending most of their time, money and energy on
unessential fluff.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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