MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Contractors with the Morgantown Utility Board continue to address the water utility amidst a heatwave that will take up most of the week.
As heat indexes reach as high as 105 degrees over the next few days, MUB Communications Director Chris Dale reported that contractors will be out over by the University Avenue Bridge to address a broken sanitary sewer line caused by an area landslide. The work will take place over the course of several weeks, which will also include a workaround for Deckers Creek so that MUB crews can directly address the break.
“Well, right now we ask the public to avoid contact at Deckers Creek, at the location of the break; we want to do a pump around of the area that’s broken,” said Dale. “We expect to have that done, hopefully, by the end of this week.”
According to Dale, the work requires a line replacement that occurs at a portion of the University Avenue Bridge by Deckers Creek that is essentially a near-vertical drop. Along with the pump-around that will take place to allow access to the damaged pipe, contractors will then use equipment normally used for line replacements, with the work itself expected to take place throughout next week.
“The hillside that it sits below is basically a cliff; it’s a drop-off,” said Dale on the geographic issues over the line replacement. “Plus it’s an older 30-inch line, so we have to make sure that we, of course, have the equipment to actually make that repair itself.”
To address the heat, Dale noted that MUB crews will have cold water provided on a consistent basis as well as air-conditioned vehicles running on-site. Contractors will also work starting at 5 a.m., so that the brunt of the heat won’t be felt by any crews addressing the sanitary sewer line.
“We make sure that they have an air-conditioned truck that they can escape to, and they keep an eye on each other,” said Dale. “They’re professionals, they know these things, and also we make sure that they have ice water available to them as well.”
The hope for MUB crews is to have the 30-inch sanitary sewer pipeline with contractors maintaining normal day-to-day operations pending any catastrophic weather event. Precautions for extreme heat have been taken, and the time between the pump around at Deckers Creek and the work replacing the pipe itself is expected to be minimal. Understanding the high temperatures that will be ongoing, Dale expressed gratitude to those working to keep the services of tens of thousands of customers operational.
“I would just like to give a shoutout to our guys who are out in the heat,” said Dale. “Working and making sure MUB services remain available, when you turn your water on, it’s on because of these guys; they’re true community heroes.”