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Busting out: Council authorizes purchase of pipe-bursting equipment
By Kenny Green, kgreen@starlocalnews.com
The Rowlett City Council on Tuesday, March 19, authorized the purchase of pipe-bursting equipment. The equipment will allow the city's utility department to more efficiently and quickly replace pipes.
"[Pipe bursting is] an option that focuses on the least disruption to our community," said Tim Rogers, utility operations manager.
Rogers said the equipment will allow his staff to put in underground pipe without having to excavate the ground above it.
He said the procedure allows the city staff to run a rod through the existing pipeline and attach it to a new pipe. The pipe is then pulled back through the existing pipe, leaving the old pipe in the ground.
"It's like a protection as well because it surrounds the new pipe we are pulling through," Rogers said.
He said the technology will allow the city staff to more efficiently and quickly replace degraded pipe.
"It allows me to upgrade volume also. Instead of pulling 6-inch pipe through 6-inch pipe, I can pull an 8-inch pipe to give us volume," Rogers said.
"From a taxpayer's perspective this is 3-to-1 almost return [on investment] because there is less disruption; so you can get in there with less men and in a way we are obviously saving money long-term by using technology," said Carl Pankratz, city councilman.
Rogers said the city has already done testing with the equipment. He said a contractor would have cost them $65 per linear foot to replace the test section of pipe, but with the equipment the cost to the city is $35 per linear foot.
"I can't express enough about the least disruption to the community," Rogers said.
"It's just really a great piece of equipment," said Todd Gottel, Rowlett mayor. "[What really] impressed me is the amount of pipe you can run in a day without disrupting service."
Rogers said that 50 percent of the city's pipes are at least 20 years old and the equipment would help to upgrade the pipes.
"This will help us refresh our pipelines at a relatively low cost," Rogers said.
By the numbers
The city will purchase the pipe-bursting equipment at a cost of $255,049.82 and will finance the equipment over five years at 1.51 percent interest through U.S. Bancorp Government Leasing and Finance. The total cost to the taxpayers, including interest, will be $264,462.60.
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