Utility will ask City to cover estimated $500K cost after job is completed
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Board of Directors approved a $500,000 repair to an essential wastewater pipe that was accidentally punctured on May 28 by City of Alameda workers who were repairing a storm drain, according to a Bay City News report published in Local News Matters [1] and SFGATE [2].
After the repairs are completed, EBMUD will ask the City of Alameda to pay for the costs associated with repairing the damaged pipe, EBMUD officials said. The pipe, known as the Alameda sewer interceptor pipeline, sits just above the storm drain and serves as a sewer line for both Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island.
“We are moving fast on this,” Garin Warren, EBMUD’s manager of wastewater engineering, told Bay City News. “We went out to the site, assessed the condition the day after we were notified, and by the following day, we had a draft repair.”
The emergency request was authorized to ensure that EMBUD would have the necessary funds to repair the damage without any delays because of the potential risk of sewage flooding and water contamination, Warren said. The work is estimated to be completed by the end of July, according to the report.
“Our intent is to complete the repairs before the start of the wet weather season,” Warren said.
[3]
Who pays what?
Alameda became part of the EBMUD Regional Private Sewer Lateral (PSL) Program in 2015, according to the City of Alameda Public Works Department [4]. For major sewer main issues, EBMUD handles the large regional interceptor pipelines, while the City manages neighborhood collection lines.
“A sewer lateral is the pipe that conveys sewage from a building’s plumbing to the City sewer system,” the Public Works webpage states. The property owner handles the maintenance and replacement of the part on private property, while the City is responsible for the part of the pipe that runs from the property line to the sewer main.
“This division of responsibility is a bit different if you live in a condominium or Homeowner’s Association,” the webpage states. For more information about that, see the Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program’s Guidelines for Condominiums and Other Common Interest Developments [5].
[6]About the Alameda interceptor
“The Alameda interceptor is a large diameter 60-inch pipeline that receives sewer flow from a number of City of Alameda sewer collections and conveys the wastewater to the District’s treatment plant,” EBMUD explains on its Alameda Sewer Interceptor Pipeline Rehabilitation [7] webpage.
A 700-foot section of the pipeline (see map) is scheduled to be rehabilitated by the utility district, starting this coming winter, and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2027.
The project will require excavating one access pit over the interceptor pipeline and recoating existing maintenance holes. This rehab will address critical pipeline corrosion and reduce the risk of pipe failure, according to EBMUD.
The process will include slip lining, a trenchless method used to rehabilitate existing pipelines with minimal excavation, according to EBMUD. The process involves inserting slightly smaller, prefabricated pipe into the damaged host pipe and then grouting it into place.
“This technique restores the structural integrity of the pipeline, prevents leaks, and extends its service life,” EBMUD states. “Slip lining significantly reduces construction time, costs, and surface disruption, making it a less invasive alternative to traditional pipe replacement methods.”