Could your Columbia street cave in? How water leaks affect road conditions
The city of Columbia’s water department has more than 200 job openings, and is behind on about 4,000 work orders, The State previously reported. The backlog of work paired with the need for more employees means more repairs are being put off across the Columbia area.
Between 75 and 100 main line leaks need repairs, and another 200 service line leaks have yet to be fixed. What does this mean for the condition of city streets? The State spoke with Assistant City Manager Clint Shealy to find out.
With the number of ongoing leaks, should residents be worried about road damage?
No one should be worried about their road collapsing, Shealy said. Nor should they be worried about major damage to their street. But potholes and landscaping damage are occurring.
If there’s a repair that impacts public safety, like on a main thoroughfare, the department responds to those cases immediately. But with fewer employees, the city isn’t able to get to a lot of minor repairs right away. Small leaks left to fester can eventually cause soil erosion or shift gravel, creating depressions and potentially potholes in the road.
“They can change, things can get worse,” Shealy said of small leaks.
Would a water leak cause a pothole or, worse, a sinkhole?
Potholes are likely, but sinkholes are not, Shealy said. There are a number of ways leaks can cause potholes.
One way is if repair work takes longer than planned. When crews repair a broken pipe, they have to dig a hole several feet deep to access the line and then they fill it with gravel when long-term repairs can’t be done immediately.
Rain and traffic can wear down that gravel, causing potholes.
Small leaks that don’t get repaired right away can also eventually erode soil beneath the asphalt, causing potholes as well.
That said, “water leaks don’t usually create these giant sinkholes,” Shealy said.
There are also a range of things that can create potholes that have nothing to do with water leaks, he added.
How does the city know if a leak is particularly bad?
The city sends a “runner” to assess the leak and report back on whether it could be a serious problem.
Shealy said at times, the city has assessed a leak as minor, and then several days later discover it has grown into a bigger problem. When that happens, those repairs get moved up on the priority list.
Can water main and service line leaks cause damage to a person’s property?
Maybe, but it’s very unlikely it would cause severe damage.
A residential property is connected to a main water line by a service line. Leaks in service lines aren’t uncommon. More than 200 of those leaks are active across the Columbia area, according to a city report.
The service water line almost always ends at a person’s property line, Shealy said. Those leaks can sometimes damage a property’s landscaping, but they wouldn’t impact their house or structures on the property, he said.
If a leak is affecting a house, that leak is probably on the homeowners side of the water meter, Shealy said.
What should you do if you see water leaking into the road?
Residents should report any leaks they see, Shealy said. Even if a leak seems small, the department still needs to be able to assess the situation.
Residents can report leaks in a number of ways. One way is to call the city’s customer service center at 803.545.3300. The call center is getting between 1,200 and 1,500 calls a day, however. So residents are also encouraged to make reports via email to customercare@columbiasc.gov, or through an online portal here.
