A water pipeline that serves the city of Folsom, Calif., as well as Folsom Prison collapsed Feb. 13 at a Folsom Dam construction site, but officials were able to install a temporary bypass line with no loss or reduction of service.
The incident involved the permanent 42-in line that was being moved to make way for the second phase of a new spillway project. A temporary 24-in line was placed into service while efforts are under way to fully repair the damaged section, says Larry Hobbs, Folsom project manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region. “The collapse occurred while dewatering the pipeline,” says Hobbs. “No contractors were directly involved with the dewatering operation. This was being done in preparation of advance work for installing bifurcations to facilitate the permanent relocation.”