The Plumbing Shop in Facilities Management recently responded to a call of water running down De Neve Drive. The Plumbers determined that one of our main water feeds servicing the North West side of campus had ruptured underground and under the street. The existing shut off valves were inoperable and the Plumbing crew (Lead Plumber Marc Corey, Journeyman Plumber Rahsonn McGlothen, Apprentices Armando Real and Douglas Alvarenga and Facilities Worker Victor Flores) got creative and quickly bypassed the valves and stop the water from leaking. The FM Masons crew (Masons Randy Hill and Douglas Van Engen) cut up the asphalt street, and our Grounds team (Roberto Medina and Lewis Rendon), along with our Plumbing crew, expertly dug around the maze of electrical, gas and other utilities down in the ground to access the leaking pipe and defective valves. The valves were replaced, the bypass was removed and the leaking pipe was repaired. Masons secured the pipe and valves underground by pouring slurry into the hole to hold everything in place and to prevent any ground compaction complications.
The main header set and backflow preventing device is currently still being serviced to improve its functionality and the street will soon be re-asphalted.
Thank you to our plumbers, masons, and grounds crew for expertly addressing the ruptured water main; their quick and decisive work ensured minimal damage to our campus.
