Carla Occaso and Cassandra Hemenway
Montpelier’s Department of Public Works ended up replacing a 125-year-old water pipe at the corner of Main and Barre streets earlier this month after water leaked from a valve and then an excavator damaged the pipe, according to Kurt Motyka, director and engineer of the city’s Department of Public Works.
What started as a leak worsened when a contractor hit the water pipes while excavating, he said, which resulted in a water shut-off notice to residents and a 20-foot pipe repair.
“We dug in and made the repair on Tuesday,” Motyka told The Bridge, noting that the old cast iron pipe hailed back to the early 1900s. “They don’t even make that kind of pipe anymore,” he said.
The first leak was discovered Feb. 6 from a 14-inch main in extremely cold conditions, Motyka told the city council during its Feb. 11 meeting. After excavating, the department learned the leak was on a fitting that no longer exists. He explained there are two water mains on Barre Street on each side of the street: a 10-inch pipe and a 14-inch pipe. The Barre Street water main is one of the primary feeds from the city to the water plant, so the repair required shutting off about a half-mile of water from Main Street to Granite Street.
Almost all properties on the south side of the street continued to have water, but the restaurant Ondis is in one of the few buildings that lost water. Ondis owner Christopher Leighton told city councilors that he had no notice of the shut down and did not find out about having lost water until coming in to open the restaurant. This caused him to lose money and to have workers come in unnecessarily, he said. He has lost thousands of dollars from frequently recurring water shut offs since the restaurant opened on Barre Street, he added. (Incidentally, Ondis chef Max Vogel was recently nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award).
Motyka explained DPW could not repair the break Friday because not only did the city not have the replacement part, but it is no longer manufactured. So they shut down the water over the weekend. On Monday, DPW hired a contractor to excavate and install the new part because it was a different shape than the original.
The contractor accidentally hit the water main during the repair, causing a new leak, which led to a boil-water notice. Each time they shut off the water, or announced a new leak, DPW put notices out on the city alert system, Facebook, and Front Porch Forum, Motyka said. Additionally, they went door to door with flyers when required.
Motyka told councilors he has worked with Leighton to get him connected with the city’s public alert system, which Leighton had not signed up for previously.
The water system was built in 1903 and is scheduled to be fixed, Motyka said, adding, “We do have a plan to replace it. The challenge we have is we can’t retain engineers. The private sector pays more. When we do get them they only last six to 12 months, so I will be talking to the new [city] manager to talk about hopefully retaining our engineering staff.”
