Kansas’ oldest city
getting new water mains
by Gary Armentrout
(Article republished from The Kansas Lifeline, July 2008 with permission of the Kansas Rural Water Association)
The first city in Kansas,
Leavenworth, has
undertaken a project to
improve the community’s
water distribution system.
Starting in 2004, the
Leavenworth Water Department
embarked on a program to install
High-Density Polyethylene Pipe
(HDPE) in the downtown area.
The new pipe ranges in size from
2-inch to 8-inch. The pipeline is
replacing some of the old PVC
and even older ductile iron pipe
sections that have been in the
ground for more than 100 years.
Being the “first city in Kansas”,
Leavenworth also has some of the
oldest water pipe in service in
Kansas. The city water
distribution system dates back to
the 1870s when water lines were
made of wood.
The water
department has
recovered some of
the old wooden
waterlines when
repairing leaks or
installing new
lines in some of
the older sections
of the city.
A private
company, the
Leavenworth City
and Fort
Leavenworth Water Company,
constructed the original
waterworks system in 1881-1882.
It consisted of the original (north)
water treatment plant, 14 miles of
transmission and distribution
water mains, and the 5 milliongallon
Pilot Knob Reservoir. The
water treatment plant consisted
primarily of reciprocating pumps
and the existing north reservoir, a
9 million-gallon settling basin.
Leavenworth purchased the
system in 1921. In September
1937, the citizens of Leavenworth
voted to establish a waterworks
board and a separate water
department that continue today.
The intent of the citizens was to
ensure that the water department
would be operated in a business
manner. Also, all water sales
revenues were to be used strictly
for operating and improving the
water system since the water
department receives no tax
revenues.
“The utility is likely to
continue using the HDPE pipe in
the future. We are installing the
new HDPE pipe because we
believe the new pipe costs less at
this time and will continue to in
the coming years” Leavenworth Water Department Manager Don
Murphy explains. “Our crews also
favor the new pipe over ductile
iron because of the ease of
installing the pipe and the fact that
even with the larger size pipe,
there are no gaskets to worry
about leaking. The larger size pipe
is fused together at the joints. This
fusion of pipe eliminates the need
for a gasket and the possible leak
point in the future.”
The pipeline replacement
project began in 2004 with the
installation of 2-inch HDPE in a
residential area. Replacement has
now moved into the downtown
area. The Leavenworth Water
Department is also reducing costs
by boring as much of the line
installation as possible as opposed
to excavating the city streets and
sidewalks. Using the HDPE pipe
in this way reduces costs as the
pipe is available in large rolls in
sizes 4-inch and smaller. It is very
easy to pull the pipe through from
end to end. The pipe is flexible
and lighter than the ductile iron
pipe and has great flexibility. As
of June 1, the Leavenworth Water
Department has
installed more
than 40,000 feet
of HDPE pipe
within its water
distribution
system.
HDPE has become increasingly
popular in recent years for use in
water and wastewater applications.
It has been in use by natural gas
systems for longer periods. The
gas industry was among the first
uses of HDPE to replace iron pipe
because of its lack of corrosion
and ease of installation. At
Leavenworth, new waterlines and
new gas lines are being installed in
the same trench in the downtown
areas. The installation of the two
HDPE pipes in the same trench
has shown that it can be completed
more quickly, efficiently and costeffectively
than other types of pipe. There is a large savings in
time and money, and it is less
disruptive to the downtown
community.
High-Density Polyethylene
Pipe has been available for about
40 years. The pipe is a product
originating from crude oil. From
the crude oil, Naphtha is extracted
and then ethylene gas is extracted
from the naphtha. Through a
process called polymerization, the
ethylene gas is put through a
catalytic reaction that causes the
molecules to form long chains.
HDPE is comprised of many very
long chains with very little
branching. The chains are packed
tightly together, making for a very
tough and inert plastic.
Leavenworth’s current project
is the start of what is hoped will be
an ongoing replacement practice
of selecting areas of the town to
upgrade service to the community
without a lot of disruption, and at
the same time, to save time and
money in doing so. Reducing
water loss was also a factor in
implementing the replacement
project. When looking at the total
picture, the Leavenworth Water
Department knows that not all of
its infrastructure will need to be
replaced at this time. However, by
addressing some improvements
every year, the city’s water
department can make significant
progress and will eventually
complete the project within a
reasonable amount of time.
Accomplishing this project with
the lowest possible cost and
minimizing the inconvenience to
the citizens makes the projects
undertaken by the Leavenworth
Water Department financially and
politically acceptable to the
ratepayers.
The Leavenworth Water
Department currently has 34
employees who work hard to
operate the water department
efficiently and to meet the board's
goals of quality, abundant
drinking water, friendly customer
service, and economical water
rates. The service area has a
population of approximately
50,000 people and includes the
cities of Leavenworth and Lansing
(Lan-Del Water District) and six
rural water districts. Water sales
have averaged about 5 million
gallons per day for the past 15
years. About 22% of the total
water production is sold wholesale
to Lan-Del Water District and the
six rural water districts.
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