News Flash

“City Minute”

May 6, 2018

 In 1944, The City of Phillipsburg installed a pair of 10 inch ductile iron pipes from the Glade reservoir to the water plant.  Over the last 60 years, these pipes functioned with minimal repairs.   In 2006, the City Council approved a project to replace one of the ductile iron lines with PVC along with some additional modifications to the distribution system.  It was decided at that point to continue to utilize the existing Deer Creek crossing.  Six months ago the City began experiencing excessive water loss amounts and began to investigate several areas to eliminate the issue.  Staff was concerned of the possibility of a leak under Deer Creek and the water leaking into the creek bed. 

On April 17, 2019, staff located a leak in a portion of the crossing and immediately began the process of finding solutions to correct the issue.  Staff worked to isolate the line and redirect water through the other crossing; however the line was unable to maintain suitable supply levels to the community. 

On April 26, 2019, a special council meeting was ordered to approve a recommended solution.    Bids to bore a new 10 inch line were received from two contractors.  The City purchased all the materials and M&D was selected to do the boring.  The City staff completed all the connections once the bore was complete. 

Construction began on April 30^th and was completed on May 3^rd.  This was a challenging project and crucial to our infrastructure.  M&D completed the boring for $20,500.  Materials purchased by the City to complete this project included 600 feet of HDPE pipe which cost $13,830.  Valves and restraints to complete the project cost $6,148.   Total cost of project was $40,478.  These funds will be taken from the Capital Improvement Fund that was created from the recent sales tax vote.   Due to the cost of this project, some scheduled projects will be shifted to next year to stay within budget.