THE PROBLEM
The Village of Bald Head Island discovered one of their water mains was leaking. Roots from nearby vegetation had pushed a tapping saddle out of position, causing wear on the tap that eroded the pipe over time. Unfortunately, due to its location, there was no valve to isolate the area without shutting down the water system to the entire island, which was required just a week prior for a different repair. The island’s Public Services Director, JP McCann, wanted to avoid another island-wide shutdown, especially during the peak season when their population expanded to around 12,000 people.
THE SOLUTION
Having worked with Garrison Enterprise Inc. previously, JP called their Regional Manager, John Hamling, to explore utilizing the Insta-Valve 250 insertion valve to isolate the area of repair. With a solution in hand, John and his team made the journey to the island by barge, arriving around 1 PM. Once onsite, the Garrison crew surveyed the worksite and discovered that the ground cover was insufficient and utility cables ran along both sides of the 10” PVC pipe, making a side install impossible. Thanks to the versatility of the Insta-Valve 250, the crew was able to install the valve at a 22-degree angle and successfully isolate the leaking pipe. John and his team were back on the barge to the mainland by 4 PM, and, with the new valve in place, the Bald Head Island crew was able to complete their repairs without impacting service to the entire island.
RESULTS
BETTER CONTROL: With no valves to isolate the problem area, the Insta-Valve 250 provided targeted control without impacting service island-wide.
COST REDUCTION: Not only were costs associated with shutdown avoided, like boil orders or loss of water revenue, but the Village Bald Head Island was able to avoid negative community reactions to widespread service disruptions.
LONG-TERM VALUE: The Village Bald Head Island now has a permanent, reusable point of control for the island’s water distribution system that can be capitalized.
“Thanks to the Insta-Valve 250, we were able to avoid significant service disruptions during the island’s busiest season.” — JP McCann, Public Services Director, Village of Bald Head Island.
Editor's Note: Scranton Gillette Communications and the SGC Water Group are not liable for the accuracy, efficacy and validity of the claims made in this piece. The views expressed in this content do not reflect the position of the editorial teams of Water & Wastes Digest, Water Quality Products and Storm Water Solutions.
