CSA: Leak repairs complete, Quemahoning Pipeline to go back into service

David Hurst, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Mar. 23—HOLLSOPPLE, Pa. — A series of troublesome water leaks on the Quemahoning Pipeline has been repaired, and the Cambria Somerset Authority will put the line back into service this weekend, authority officials said.

CSA Chairman Jim Greco said early Friday that most of the authority's industrial customers were set to be switched back to water from the Que line later Friday or Saturday — about two weeks after the line was drained for repairs.

Crews working from within the drained 66-inch pipeline found and sealed dozens of small holes, he said. More than 50 leaks have been repaired over the past two weeks.

The issue was first spotted on a remote section of the pipeline in the Maple Ridge area of Conemaugh Township, Somerset County.

Greco said the authority's crews hope they have figured out why the corridor had so many issues.

It appeared that when the 50-year-old section of pipeline was relocated due to a mining project, contractors for the line's then-owner, the Manufacturers Water Co., didn't install cathodic protection safeguards to control corrosion. That step typically involves connecting the pipeline to another piece of more easily corroded "sacrificial metal."

Greco said a probe will be installed to verify the protective measure is working as it should to avoid future issues.

Work was initially slowed by weather and the process of unearthing the line, leading CSA officials to decide to make repairs from the line's interior.

The CSA provided water to its industrial customers during the shutdown from its backup dams, the Border and Hinckston Run reservoirs. As planned, the Que line, which has already been refilled, will begin supplying customers again this weekend.

CPV Fairview Energy Center in Jackson Township is likely to be the last to switch over Monday. The natural gas-fired power plant's protocol involves a longer switching process, Greco said.

Greco noted that a more than $2 million repair project in the Foustwell Tunnel section of the Que pipeline was recently completed, addressing the line's most problem-plagued area.

"We're hopeful these repairs will solve (the issue)," he said.

With the approximately $2.2 million Foustwell Tunnel project now complete, the CSA was reimbursed $700,000 this week from a state-administered grant.

The CSA took out a short-term loan to cover those costs as work occurred, and after submitting payments for review by the state, the funds were issued to the CSA as a reimbursement, Greco said.

That allows the authority to pay off those expenses — and also to reimburse a portion of expenses that were covered by the CSA's emergency repair fund, he said.

The emergency repair fund, an annual part of the CSA's budget, is now being relied on to cover what will likely be a $250,000 project to repair the leaks in the Maple Ridge area, Greco said.