Corpus Christi city officials are blaming a new leak in the Mary Rhodes Pipeline — the second discovered within two weeks of the first — at least partially on its age and “outdated construction practices.”
Crews found the second leak when bringing the pipeline back online after the first round of repairs — replacing a 17-foot segment of pipe about halfway into its length from Lake Texana to Corpus Christi — according to city officials.
Early analysis pinpointed the problem to what was described in an Oct. 5 news release as “a welded manway, an access point built into the pipeline,” near the O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant.
“The manway dates to the pipeline’s original construction more than 25 years ago and reflects outdated construction practices,” the news release states. “[Corpus Christi Water] has been working to correct these conditions along the MRP and will continue to do so.”
The segment is about 24 feet in the length, according to the email.
The Mary Rhodes Pipeline extends roughly 100 miles.
City officials expect the Mary Rhodes Pipeline will begin initial operations, currently estimated at Oct. 6, following replacement of the newly failed section.
The first leak on the 101-mile pipeline was found Sept. 19.
Like now, the pipeline — which has been delivering around 72 million gallons of water per day to Corpus Christi — was shut down, with water sourced instead exclusively to Lake Corpus Christi and groundwater pumped in Nueces County well fields, outside city limits.
Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Second Mary Rhodes Pipeline leak blamed on age, obsolete construction
