Leak busters maintain distribution lines

  • Published
  • By The 49th Civil Engineer Squadron
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  One of the primary jobs of the 49th Civil Engineer Squadron Water Shop is delivering drinking water throughout the base. The shop has the daunting task of maintaining over 150 miles of distribution pipelines, some of them nearly 60 years old and made of several different kinds of pipe. This makes the task of locating and repairing leaks challenging. 

The Water Shop has combined a number of methods to address this challenge.
Members of Team Holloman may recall back in October the bright green water pooled along 49er Avenue on the west side of the base - this was from the use of dye starting in the base near First Street. 

This technique is simple and quick for drilling holes to look for pipes and fittings that may be leaking. A high pressure jet of water is used to blast a hole in the ground while a vacuum trailer sucks up the mud and debris. When water is discovered flowing in locations where there is no obvious source, the shop will sometimes use non-toxic fluorescent dye to trace it back to its source, hence the green water. 

One of the newest tools added to the Water Shop's arsenal for finding leaks is a Specific Conductivity Meter. This meter measures electrically the amount of dissolved salts in the water. The naturally occurring ground water under the base has a great amount of dissolved salts in it, while our drinking water has relatively little. Therefore measuring a sample from a suspected leak can determine whether the sample is ground water, drinking water or a combination of both. 

The use of these techniques and others such as finding wet areas or sink holes has resulted in the Water Shop detecting and repairing leaks amounting to 400,000 gallons per day. This will save the base $250,000.00 per year in water that is no longer being lost. Just as important as the money being saved is the water itself, which is a precious commodity at Holloman. 

Individuals can help the Water Shop in locating leaks by reporting areas where there is unusual wet areas or water. Suspected leaks around the base can be reported to Customer Services at 572-3223 or 572-3224, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Suspected leaks in housing should be reported to Soaring Heights at 479-1175.