Old, decrepit pipeline springs leaks
Published Thursday June 18th, 2009
Safety Provincial official suggests the situation in Musquash is well under control
MUSQUASH - Ray Chaisson, who lives on Stillwater Road, wishes the water really would be still.
Instead, this week plumes of spray were gushing out of the large, old wooden pipeline that snakes beside the road. The water shoots as high as some of the nearby homes, including the one where he lives.
The pipeline, called a penstock, was built in 1949 out of creosoted strips of wood held together by bands of iron, like a very large barrel. About a kilometre in length and more then three metres in diameter, it carries water from the East Branch Reservoir to a small, out-of-commission power generating station in Musquash.
"If it burst for any reason we would be in trouble down here," Chaisson said.
He is more worried than ever because in all the years he has lived next to the penstock, he has never seen water soaring this high.
"If they can't repair it, it will erode that hole a lot bigger," he said.
Wednesday, workers in a boom truck attempted to push a large plug, made out of a two by four, into one of the biggest holes, but it kept coming back out, Chaisson said. They did succeed in plugging several of the smaller holes.
Steven Benteau, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, could not confirm that repairs were completed Wednesday.
"The last word from them was that they hoped to fix it today," he said late Wednesday afternoon.
Chaisson believes authorities have kept water flowing because the pressure inside the penstock keeps the wood pressed against the steel bands, and if it was emptied for any length of time it would dry out and collapse.
The dam and the penstock are owned by the Department of Natural Resources but maintenance is done by NB Power, said Matt Jones, a spokesman for Natural Resources.
"We were notified today by NB Power about the penstock leaking," Jones said. "They are addressing the leak and will keep us posted."
A walk along Stillwater Road reveals a pipeline covered in patches. Also visible are whittled wooden plugs sticking out like fingers in a dike. It glistens in many spots where water seeps out and the ground underneath is saturated. In a number of places the wood looks like a poke with a thumb would leave a dent.
"Our deck is only 50 feet from that penstock up there and if it burst we would be in trouble," Chaisson said. "It's been patched so many times. It's old."
Benteau said the water can be shut off at the dam if a major leak develops, so the department views the risk to neighbours as low.
However, Chaisson points out several dips in the road that could fill with water, depending on where a leak develops, which would make it difficult to get to the dam to shut off the water.
Chaisson said residents of the area believe the fate of the penstock and their neighbourhood is caught up in a dispute between Natural Resources and NB Power over the site. But in the meantime repairs are only postponing the inevitable as the pipeline gets older and more decrepit. He wants to see a fibreglass pipe replacing the old penstock, or a new set of generators installed at the dam to take advantage of the site's ability to produce electricity.
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