AUSTIN, Texas — At its Dec. 9 meeting, the Austin City Council approved a construction contract to replace more than 2,000 water service lines in more than 60 neighborhoods.
According to Austin Water, water service lines are smaller pipelines that run from the water main, typically located in the street, to customers' meters connecting to their private plumbing lines.
The department said thousands of the water service lines that were installed from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s used plastic resin materials – polybutylene and polyethylene, collectively referred to as poly – that have proven to become brittle and more prone to breaks, especially in areas where system water pressure is higher.
To date, Austin Water has replaced more than 3,000 poly water service lines with stronger pipe material.
In 2022, the selected contractor will begin replacement work in areas with higher water pressure. Austin Water said those areas have been prioritized because higher water pressure coupled with the brittle pipe material has resulted in a higher number of breaks compared to areas with lower pressure.
Austin Water said affected customers will be notified before work begins in their subdivision.
"Austin Water has identified that this outdated material is the primary source of service line breaks in our system and has a proactive program to replace these lines with stronger materials," Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said. "These replacements will improve reliability for customers, decrease the cost and inconvenience of emergency repairs and help reduce water leaks in our system."
Austin Water said in addition to this construction contract, it will continue to use in-house crews to proactively replace poly water service lines and may execute additional contracts to further expedite the replacement process.
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