City details response after 24-inch transmission main break that triggered boil-water notice

City staff briefed the Weatherford Municipal Utility Board on a June 7 incident in which a 24-inch transmission main developed a significant failure that prompted a precautionary boil-water notice for customers in the Miller pressure plane.

Rick Schaeffer (S5), who provided the water-system update, said crews located the leak on Red Eagle Trail and worked through the night to excavate a 24-inch transmission main that the presentation described as roughly 16 feet deep at the creek crossing. Schaeffer said crews installed a temporary bypass and later cut in an isolation valve so the adjacent 36-inch transmission main could return to service. "Our crews worked from 7AM on Sunday until about 2AM on Monday morning to locate the leak, install a temporary bypass, and then install an isolation valve to isolate the leak itself," he said.

Schaeffer told the board the compromised section had a roughly 9-inch hole in the pipe and that final repairs were completed by Wednesday with the site restored on Thursday. Because of regulatory testing requirements, staff collected water samples and sent them to a lab in Fort Worth; Schaeffer said those tests were completed and the boil-water notice was rescinded once results were received. He said system pressure was restored to the distribution system by about 2:00 AM Monday and that plant staff had all storage tanks back to normal by midafternoon.

Schaeffer described the probable cause as a failure at a sag point in the pipe where mortar lining had broken off, exposing the steel liner to corrosion and ultimately causing the blowout. He credited Rangeline Pipeline Services and the plant contractor, Weber, for emergency repairs and noted Weber had provided a valve already located in Weatherford that saved two hours of delay. Schaeffer named emergency management coordinator Michael Baldwin and communications manager Aaron Spicer as staff who helped issue reverse-911 notifications and targeted messages to nursing homes and daycares.

Board members asked technical questions about the pipe construction, easement placement and the 16-foot depth at the creek crossing; Schaeffer said parallel lines are adjacent and are likely within the same easement and that deeper depth at creek crossings is typical. No board action was required on the staff report.

The board recorded appreciation for the crews and contractors that worked on the repair; Schaeffer summarized the city’s next steps as project restoration, testing, and continued communication with affected customers.