Low water pressure in Upper Koblerville, San Antonio

Residents of San Antonio and Upper Koblerville will experience water outage or low water pressure through the weekend, as the CNMI Water Task Force tries to fix pipeline leaks detected in the area.

Commonwealth Utilities Corp. spokesperson Pamela A. Mathis said yesterday that the Water Task Force has hired a contractor to repair the leaks.

The task force had detected broken water valves under paved roads, where the main water lines split into lateral lines and down streets.

To fix the problem, two crews will cut through the roads, dig up the broken pipelines and valves and install new water distribution systems in San Antonio and Koblerville. They will also map the new systems into computers, so finding pipelines and operational valves will be automated in the future.

Mathis said the water problems would be experienced in the early morning hours. “The project is underway and will be finished through the weekend,” she said.

Both areas currently receive 24-hour water service.

According to Mathis, the CUC Leak Detection Team and the Water Task Force discovered the leak by adding water to pressurize or fill pipes to full capacity.

“If equal gallons are not counted at metered lots, or through daily reservoir measurements, this points to a loss of water ‘somewhere’ in the system. To detect the precise point, the man of the Leak Detection Team use their trained ears to find the source of problems,” Mathis said.

Aside from leaks in the distribution lines, CUC and WTF also found that very old valves, used to open pipeline operations or close water distribution, do not work.

“The valves are either closed but not all the way, or the valves are operating open but not nearly enough. Both malfunctions result in a great loss of water and service not being maximized,” Mathis said.

Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente had said earlier that about 80 miles of new piping would be laid all throughout the island once the leak detection program was complete.

“The leak detection program will be performed by starting from each reservoir and isolating short distances in the main supply lines that may include laterals. The leak detection team will use ground penetrating radar equipment to locate water lines in areas where there are no as-built drawings,” Benavente had explained.