Water Update
Hello Kachess Community Members,
We have great news!!!
The leak responsible for most of our troubles was located and is being repaired by Randy Hoffine this afternoon as I write this.
It was a small line down near the end of Via Kachess. I have inserted a photo of the break.
The pipe wasn’t severed completely as it is in the picture. It was broken about half way around. Our best estimate is that it was leaking about 20,000 gallons per day. We speculate that it started as a hairline type of fracture and it grew and grew. There was no visible sign of the leak on the ground above the break and within a 100 foot radius. The water pipe was unusually deep (about 5 or 6 feet) which is would have been hard to find.
Randy installed a temporary valve on the pressured side of the break. The repair should be complete tonight or first thing tomorrow. Water will be restored to the houses affected (very few at the end of Via Kachess) soon. Here’s a picture of the broken line with the temporary valve. Perhaps it’s difficult to see in the picture but the ground around the break is extremely saturated.
More good news: We have 150,000 gallons of stored water up in our tanks. We, of course, have stopped purchasing water. The sump pumps are off and will remain off until we drain the tanks to their normal high level of 100,000 gallons. In the meantime, the sump will get a breather and will fill to its capacity. The tanks modulate at the 100,000 gallon level. As soon as we get to that level, we’ll monitor the tank level closely to see if our normal intake of water keeps up with our demand. We expect that it will.
The inspection company found another leak and fortunately, it is quite small. Randy will get to it after the major leak is repaired.
With all of the pumping and agitation, we expect sentiment for the foreseeable future. We are looking at a service that can clean our tanks without emptying them. This would include the sump tank as well.
Unless we uncover urgent news, we’ll go back to reporting to you through our normal channels which means that our water committee will submit monthly reports at the board meetings.
Speaking of board meetings, we have our next meeting scheduled for Saturday, August 9. This is an important meeting as it is the time we vote on the annual budget. In the budget for next year, is a significant amount of money scheduled for engineering of a replacement water system and well drilling. The board believes that this is critical.
You should have already received written notice of this meeting. There is quite a lot of detail in it. Also, in the mailing is a proxy for you to assign to another member only if you can’t make it to the meeting. Simply fill in how you’d like them to vote, sign it, and make sure they attend! Otherwise, we’ll see you there. Ballots will be handed out at the meeting.
Thanks again for your patience. What a pain this has been. Thanks also to Dan & Carol Riblett and to Randy Hoffine.
See you on the 9th!
Tom Carmody
Kachess Board President
president@kachess.com
We have great news!!!
The leak responsible for most of our troubles was located and is being repaired by Randy Hoffine this afternoon as I write this.
It was a small line down near the end of Via Kachess. I have inserted a photo of the break.
The pipe wasn’t severed completely as it is in the picture. It was broken about half way around. Our best estimate is that it was leaking about 20,000 gallons per day. We speculate that it started as a hairline type of fracture and it grew and grew. There was no visible sign of the leak on the ground above the break and within a 100 foot radius. The water pipe was unusually deep (about 5 or 6 feet) which is would have been hard to find.
Randy installed a temporary valve on the pressured side of the break. The repair should be complete tonight or first thing tomorrow. Water will be restored to the houses affected (very few at the end of Via Kachess) soon. Here’s a picture of the broken line with the temporary valve. Perhaps it’s difficult to see in the picture but the ground around the break is extremely saturated.
More good news: We have 150,000 gallons of stored water up in our tanks. We, of course, have stopped purchasing water. The sump pumps are off and will remain off until we drain the tanks to their normal high level of 100,000 gallons. In the meantime, the sump will get a breather and will fill to its capacity. The tanks modulate at the 100,000 gallon level. As soon as we get to that level, we’ll monitor the tank level closely to see if our normal intake of water keeps up with our demand. We expect that it will.
The inspection company found another leak and fortunately, it is quite small. Randy will get to it after the major leak is repaired.
With all of the pumping and agitation, we expect sentiment for the foreseeable future. We are looking at a service that can clean our tanks without emptying them. This would include the sump tank as well.
Unless we uncover urgent news, we’ll go back to reporting to you through our normal channels which means that our water committee will submit monthly reports at the board meetings.
Speaking of board meetings, we have our next meeting scheduled for Saturday, August 9. This is an important meeting as it is the time we vote on the annual budget. In the budget for next year, is a significant amount of money scheduled for engineering of a replacement water system and well drilling. The board believes that this is critical.
You should have already received written notice of this meeting. There is quite a lot of detail in it. Also, in the mailing is a proxy for you to assign to another member only if you can’t make it to the meeting. Simply fill in how you’d like them to vote, sign it, and make sure they attend! Otherwise, we’ll see you there. Ballots will be handed out at the meeting.
Thanks again for your patience. What a pain this has been. Thanks also to Dan & Carol Riblett and to Randy Hoffine.
See you on the 9th!
Tom Carmody
Kachess Board President
president@kachess.com