08/27/2025
August 27, 2025
To: Customers of Price River Water Improvement District
From: Jeff Richens, District Manager
Price River Water Improvement District
This is an open letter written to all of the culinary water customers for the Price River Water Improvement District (District) as to the challenges we are currently and have recently been facing. These haven’t affected many areas of the District, but rumors being what they will be, we wanted everyone to be apprised of what is happening. Those areas being most affected are much of Carbonville, Gordon Creek, the east end of Spring Glen, and The Hill Subdivision.
The main waterline for the District was installed in 1977-1978. It is a steel line with a cold tar epoxy coating, and we have installed cathodic protection stations along its length to preserve its integrity. But there have been spots where leaks are appearing – primarily on the bell end of the joints. We believe it is due to the manufacturing process when a straight pipe is heated and extruded to accommodate and create the joining of two pieces. This appears to have affected the life of the pipe, specifically at the joints.
District crews have designed a weldable coupler that surrounds the joint in such a way that it can be repaired as quickly and economically as possible. The greatest problem is that the waterline needs to be drained whenever these leaks occur. Draining takes about 6 hours and filling the line afterward takes about 3.5 hours. We strive to minimize the outage as much as possible.
To say this is an inconvenience is inadequate and insulting to those good people who have been without water for 10 or 12 hours at a time. We apologize. But we are at a loss of what better we can do. We are starting the process of engineering and looking for funding assistance to replace the worst parts of the line. These parts could cost as much as $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. This is just an estimate and much depends on contractor costs and materials.
Our crews are amazing and dedicated to serving you in the best ways possible. Please know that, if this work causes colored or cloudy water, it is still safe to drink and has been tested to ensure that safety. We appreciate your patience and understanding. And again, while we apologize for these challenges, we are doing all in our power to keep the water fresh, clean, and flowing.
Sincerely,
Jeff Richens, District Manager
Price River Water Improvement District
