Water Tank Leak Drains Contractor’s Profits Millions Of Gallons Wasted Trying To Find Tiny Holes New Indian Trail Tank
A hole the size of a ballpoint pen tip has delayed the debut of a new water tank and forced the city of Spokane to dump millions of gallons to find the leak.
“I’m almost reluctant to call it a leak. If a gallon an hour leaked I’d be surprised. You won’t see it with a naked eye,” said Chuck Prussack of Central Pre-Mix, a subcontractor on the project.
But so far, $8,000 worth of water has been wasted, city officials said.
The 4.6 million-gallon tank is in the Indian Trail neighborhood on the North Side. It has been filled and dumped twice as workers tried to find and repair leaks.
Built for $1.6 million, the tank is supposed to relieve water-pressure problems in homes around Indian Trail and meet the needs of new development.
It was first cleaned and filled in August in anticipation of getting the water into the city’s system by Labor Day.
Several leaks were found after the tank was filled and the city dumped the water, asking contractors to do a better job.
The water was drained - a process that takes three weeks - and the subcontractor, Northwest Lining and Geotextile Products, returned to do patching.
“It’s a difficult thing to empty,” said design engineer George Miller of the city water department. “And because of all the rain we had to go very slowly so as not to flood anybody.”
The tank was filled again in September and the latest leak was found about 3 feet from the ground near a hatch.
The city has been working with the primary contractor, Goebel Construction. That company is dealing with Central PreMix Concrete Co., who awarded the work to Northwest Lining.
Rod Newton, president of Northwest Lining, based in Kent, Wash., said the firm provides linings for a dozen water tanks a year and leaks are not unusual.
Such a tiny hole was.
The tank is 50 feet tall and has 60,000 square feet of surface area - about the size of 1-1/2 football fields. Last week, the hole was finally found: In the tank lining that attaches to a hatch.
The company took half an hour to seal the hole and will be in Spokane today going over the area inch by inch. Newton said it’s hard to say how the leak occurred, but the company takes full responsibility.
The city has spent several days of staff time draining and refilling the tank. The water department can file a claim to recover its costs, and may do so if the problem isn’t resolved soon, Miller said.
Northwest Lining is paying for the repairs. There will be no profit on their part of the job.
“No, we blew that a long time ago,” said Newton.
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