Pipe repairs made after James River debacle

The Hampton Roads Sanitation District finished preliminary repairs Thursday morning to a line that broke earlier this week and led to 29 million gallons of untreated wastewater being diverted into the James River.

HRSD sent the untreated wastewater into the waterway through the Claremont Pump Station on Chesapeake Avenue after the line broke Monday, sending wastewater into the streets and yards of homes and businesses on 16th Street in the area between Garden Drive and Walnut Avenue.

“Diverting untreated wastewater into local waterways is a last resort when there are no other alternatives,” HRSD spokeswoman Leila Rice said earlier this week.

The volume of wastewater carried by the 36-inch pipe was too much for a pump and haul operation and there wasn’t any existing infrastructure that would have allowed the wastewater to be directed to a different treatment plant.

Repairs are still in progress as crews continue to assess other areas of the 2-mile pipe to ensure it can withstand the pressure of full operation. Work still needs to be completed to reduce the chances of failure in other parts of the line.

Rice said that there’s a chance that untreated wastewater would have to be directed into the James River again as crews continue their repairs.

Approximately 29 million gallons of wastewater were lost or diverted into the waterway between the time of the break

Monday and the repairs Thursday morning.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will monitor for environmental effects and the Virginia Department of Health has issued an emergency shellfishing closure because the department said it’s likely the sewage contains pathogenic bacteria and viruses. It will remain in effect until Jan. 25.

The line carries wastewater to the Harbor Treatment Plant. It was installed in 1944 and was part of a $16 million project to replace a 2-mile stretch of pipe because of its age.

Rice said preliminary inspections found that interior corrosion caused the break. An inspection before the replacement project began found the system operated at less than full flow during dry weather, according to HRSD. The pipe also showed signs of corrosion.

A detour will remain in place to direct traffic around the 16th Street construction site.