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Show !! . ' v. . .--. , """W ." 1 . .. '- iiRGE SECTION of pipe which was blown out rf a 6-inch water line in Ashley show areas of erosion caused by electrolysis. Electrolysis eats at city waterlines -.t Vernal City Public Works ' virttnent is responding to an ' t, of ten calls weekly about leaks water system which mostly can med on electrolysis. 1 Electrolysis is caused by "hot soils" ' conduct electricity, said Kay i son, Public Works director. . Eectrolysis is the reverse of I .plating and eats away at ' 'ing metal," Overson said. ' i'ough waterlines being installed fire made of plastic, which isn't af- ..jd by electrolysis, the original ' system which was installed ctt 1961, is made of cast iron and is I .ienng badly from electrolysis . 1 y. old system of cast iron pipe com-i com-i raises about 70 percent of the ex-! ex-! ; system, 100 percent in Ashley and i .,-j.Overson said. j person said that he is aware of a ' i A; done before 1961 which reveals i potential "hot soils" in the valley i : but the study "must have been disregarded." A more recent study done by Community Com-munity Consultants, Provo, shows 200 leaks with a potential water loss of 330,000 gallons identified in the system from Ashley Springs to Jensen. Although this may sound like a lot of leaks, it is not necessarily the reason for poor water pressure in certain areas of the valley during peak use periods. Overson said that poor water pressure is mainly due to small waterlines which don't have the capacity capaci-ty to deliver the water. Because of the small lines and electrolysis, elec-trolysis, Overson said he is recommending recommen-ding that the city replace problem lines with larger plastic pipe. An example of such replacement is a one-mile section of pipe at 1500 East and 1500 South that has had 250 leaks in a five year period. Cost of repairing a leak ranges from $200 to $500. |