West Village Water Main Break Repaired by Harris Water

A residential building on W 12 St. in Manhattan had experienced a slow water main leak at the foundation wall of their basement.  The buildings super had been aware of the leak for several weeks and continued to monitor it on a daily basis.  He had presented the idea of repairing the leak to the co-op board head after the leak started to intensify.  Harris Water Main had been working with the buildings management company for over forty years and was called to the building on an emergency basis.

Upon arrival, Harris had become aware that the OS&Y valve was leaking as well as a water leak through the foundation wall.  A Harris installation crew was at the building the next morning and began preparing the roadway for a new 3” ductile iron water line.  The building had requested not to have the water turned off at any point in time.  Normally this would not be a possibility, however the building had two separate mains feeding the domestic and sprinkler mains.  Harris set up a temporary water feed from the sprinkler main to the domestic water lines on the inside of the building.  This would allow the building to function as if the domestic water line was fully functional with no disturbance of water.

After opening the roadway, Harris had become aware of other utilities that they had to work around.  This required the crew’s foreman to call a Harris service truck for a special delivery of fittings to work around the existing utilities.  The new pipe was installed 2.5’ below ground level which required insulation and steel plates for protection.  Both the steel plates and insulation were required by DEP and must be inspected before the roadway was closed.  Harris also had to increase the size of the existing pipe from a 2.5” galvanized pipe to a 3” ductile iron pipe as per DEP requirements.

On the first day of excavation Harris was able to prepare the entire job for the new pipe installation. Temporary asphalt and steel plates were pinned to the roadway and sidewalk for safety throughout the night.  The domestic water line was now turned off in the roadway and the water was no longer seeping through the foundation wall.  Harris was able to complete the installation on the second day, including all DEP required inspections and backfilling the roadway with clean dirt.

What is a DEP tap card?

Tap cards include basic information required of any licensed plumber to complete after repairing or replacing a water main.  The required information includes the type of work, permit number, plumber’s name, license number, date of installation, address of installation, size/material of new pipe and the exact location of the pipe. Tap cards are available for a licensed plumber upon request and is commonly used when installing a new water line.