Road paving fails to stop leaking pipe

A main water pipe on the downhill slope of Puerto Rico Drive in Puerto Rico, Saipan has been leaking for over a year now, posing a danger to motorists.

Saipan Tribune learned yesterday that the government had paved the road many times because of the water leak problem, but “without fixing the pipe.”

As a result, the short stretch of the road now has a total of nine patches of asphalt. Yet, water continues to flow from two points on the street.

“There’s like a main pipe that has been leaking down that road forever. It’s horrible, especially at night,” said attorney Bruce Berline, who’s staying near the area.

When asked about the problem, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Water and Sewer Division deputy director Bruce Megarr said he would look into the number of repairs they have done in that area the past six months and their future plans.

“I will come back with the full response to you. What we’ve done, when, by whom, and what we’ve discovered,” Megarr said.

Berline said the water leak has been happening for over a year now and that the government tried to fix the road three or four times already.

The lawyer said that Hawaiian Rock and another company had fixed the whole street and the draining system was placed underneath.

“What’s going to happen is CUC, whenever they get around to it, is going to dig up the brand new road to fix the pipe and probably leave it unpaved and destroyed,” he said.

Berline said he even called CUC’s Trouble Desk and also told the construction crew that they should fix the main pipe first before paving the street.

“They paved it. It’s all nice and beautiful except that nobody seems to notice that there’s water coming out through the pavement. Shouldn’t leaking pipes be one of CUC’s biggest priorities?” he asked.

Antonio Cabrera, 47, a resident in the area, corroborated Berline’s observation that the leak has been going on for more than a year now.

“It’s a waste of money! They should fix the pipe before paving the road,” Cabrera said.

He said the government paved a portion of the road that had the water leak, but the water keeps popping out in other areas and so the paving goes on and on.

“Look at this road now, it’s all patches!” said Cabrera pointing to asphalted portions of the street.