<Office phone rings> Edmond Public Works. This is Kim. How may I help you? At the Cross Timbers Public Service Center, a resident calls to report a water leak. Okay. And where would this water leak be? Once the information is gathered, a water leak technician, like Jose here, is dispatched to inspect the leak. Water leaks are a common occurrence for any municipality. Edmond’s Utility Line Maintenance Department usually repairs 3 to 6 water leaks a day. To track overall water loss, the City monitors its non-revenue water rate. The non-revenue water rate, or NRW, is the difference between the amount of water produced for consumption and the amount of water that is billed to customers. Having an NRW rate of 10% is considered good water management. The City of Edmond currently has an even better rate of 7%. When Jose arrives at the address, he notices the affected area immediately. Any time we send a technician out to start the investigation process on a reported leak, he starts off by making contact with the resident in person. If the resident is not home, he leaves a door hanger that indicates what we determined the problem to be, whether it's a leak on the resident's side or City’s side.
Several tools and methods are used to determine where a leak may be coming from and who is responsible for the repair. All water lines running from the city's water main to the water meter are the responsibility of the city of Edmond. Water lines running from the meter to the home are the responsibility of the property owner. This indicates some galvanized pipe that we took out of the system.
And you can see how corroded this pipe is, how degraded it is. And the amount of holes that you can see, almost like Swiss cheese and how bad that pipe would be leaking. Many factors can cause a water pipe to leak. Some pipes just fail with age. Also, during freeze and thaw cycles, the ground can shift, causing a water pipe to break. Another relevant problem in Edmond is hot soil or soil containing chemicals that slowly corrode underground pipes. And it creates an acidic situation with the soil around the pipe and it will sit there and degrade the pipe to where it starts to rust and it will just blow apart and fail. After investigating the area, Jose determines that the leak is from one of the City's service lines.
Under the street, a work order is then created. Smaller leaks like this are added to a queue of other similar leaks and Water Line Maintenance crews try to repair them in the order that they are reported. If crews are not available to repair the leak within 30 days of the initial report, a field services supervisor will reach out to the affected resident and keep them updated on the repair schedule. Some repairs take priority over others. For example, an emergency leak on a water main line must be repaired as soon as possible. If a water leak is affecting critical facilities like hospitals or nursing homes, they are prioritized as well.
Emergencies also include leaks that are causing property damage or road hazards. Every leak is unique in its own repair. Really, until we get the site excavated and determine where the leak is, we won't really know exactly what we're going to need to do to fix it. Often times, the Field Service crews must make repairs in challenging weather conditions. Crews are thoroughly trained and equipped to resolve all types of leak issues. In 2019, the department improved efficiency by purchasing its own boring unit and training crew members to bore holes under streets for new water lines. This job was previously done by a contractor. Since we were able to put that on staff and we were able to put a crew together, we were able to minimize downtime.
The efficiency of making our repairs is tenfold Every bore that we make saves the city about $1,500 dollars, just doing a two-lane residential road. The City's Public Works department certainly understands that water leaks can be an unpleasant experience for affected residents. To ensure that residents have the water they need, a dedicated staff and crew is committed to making the necessary repairs while providing excellent customer service. Residents can report a water leak by calling 405-216-7770 or by submitting through the Request Tracker Portal on the City's website. Go to EdmondOK.gov and click on the “Report a Concern” button. Then scroll down and click on the “Report a Water Leak” link to fill out the proper form..