Monday, December 07, 2009
MWA sewer main break threatens the Macon Levee
Emergency response to repair damaged pipe averts potential crisis
The temporary bypass portion of the work to repair a sewer main break near the Macon Levee runs through a portion of Central City Park.
One day before Macon Water Authority (MWA) managers were set to open bids by contractors to conduct sewer line repairs, their worst fears came true. The sewer main that had been identified as needing repair broke on the morning of Sept. 23, sending the Authority’s maintenance, engineering, and collection system personnel into emergency response mode.
At stake was the integrity of the Macon Levee, since the sewer main break occurred adjacent to the structure near Central City Park. The damaged pipe caused a large sinkhole that threatened to likewise damage the Levee if the rising flood waters of the Ocmulgee River became a contributor to the erosion.
Within hours of identifying the sewer main break, MWA crews and contractors – assisted by workers from the city of Macon and Bibb County – placed sand bags around the sink hole to stave off the rising river and to allow for a temporary patch of the break in the line.
Once the Macon Levee was no longer in jeopardy, the MWA and its contractors worked to bypass the damaged section of the sewer main two days later. By the end of the next week, on Thursday Oct. 1, the temporary bypass around the damaged sewer main was completed, and work began on the permanent fix. This involved the installation of a new force main extension that was bored under the Macon Levee and connected to the 54-inch gravity sewer main further downstream in the system.
While the Authority worked to extend this force main, contractors also installed 700 linear feet of cured-in-place lining in two additional sections of the 54-inch gravity sewer main beyond the point of the tie-in from the extended force main. MWA crews and contractors rehabilitated several manholes in this area of the system as well.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Authority completed the final tie-in of the extended force main – which now runs under the Ocmulgee and through the Macon Levee as well – into the 54-inch gravity sewer main, returning the system back to normal.
In approximately six weeks, the quick response and round-the-clock maintenance and construction efforts of the MWA and its contractors had avoided permanent damage to the Macon Levee, the collapse of a portion of its system, and extended interruption of service to its sewer customers.
Several contractors – including Walker Construction, Crowder Construction, Bio-Nomic Services, Utility Asset Management, Rain-for-Rent, and others – assisted MWA crews in properly handling this emergency, with guidance from the Authority’s Michel Wanna, Ray Shell, Darryl Macy, and others. The entire construction project cost approximately $1.4 million to complete.
Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
770-757-1681 (cell)
jcwood@uga.edu (email)