Predicting, preventing water system breaks

Many people who live near or drive around breaks in water mains and related infrastructure wonder if they can be predicted or prevented.

Steve Berry, a spokesman with Colorado Springs Utilities, said predicting and preventing breaks is difficult even while knowing where the oldest infrastructure is that’s most likely to fail.

“We have a fantastic team that works on a water main replacement project that really takes a systematic and strategic look at the whole system, and prioritizes based on need and severity of the situation,” he said.

Berry said the best CSU can do is respond to breaks quickly and replace as much aging infrastructure as budgets allow.

CSU routinely replaces 0.3 percent of its infrastructure annually, he said, but a recent rate change that lowered utility bills overall will provide more money for upgrades.

“Currently, we spend around $7 million a year,” Berry said. “I wish it could be twice that much.”

Berry said knowing where a break is lightly to happen is just the beginning of the process.

“Say that we want to replace a couple thousand feet of water main on Garden of the Gods Road,” he said. “A project like that can take two to five years of planning before we’re actually abler to turn any dirt. You have to consider the length of the project, the impact to traffic and businesses, all kinds of factors.”

Berry said CSU’s oldest infrastructure is along Academy Boulevard and on the city’s southwest side.

“On the southwest side, the city annexed communities years ago and inherited older water systems that we didn’t install,” he said.

Shifting soil and freeze-thaw cycles also are factors in breaks, Berry said, but the aging infrastructure is the biggest problem.

“Balancing the need for infrastructure improvements with honoring customers’ wishes to keep rates low is a challenge faced by nearly every municipality in the country,” he said.

But Crystal Hubbard of Colorado Springs said she’d be willing to pay a higher bill to help the utility better prevent breaks.

Hubbard spoke of Wednesday’s break that sent a geyser of water high into the air on the city’s east side.

“I drive a scooter,” she said. “If someone were to drive or walk through there, someone could gave gotten hurt. I know that municipalities have immunity in many cases. But if someone gets hurt, someone has to be responsible.”