EVERETT — Residents on Rucker Hill may experience construction headaches this summer as city contractors unearth a 73-year-old steel water pipeline that serves Kimberly-Clark’s waterfront paper plant.
The 1.4-mile stretch of steel pipeline — between a reservoir on Rucker Hill and the intersection of West Marine View Drive and 25th Street — needs to be rehabilitated or replaced, city officials say.
“It’s approaching the end of its useful life,” said Tom Thetford, Everett’s public works director.
Corrosion has slowly eaten away at the buried steel pipes, causing underground leaks. Public works crews have had to dig up streets to access the pipes, Thetford said.
Everett maintains a dedicated 48-inch-diameter pipeline that delivers up to 40 million gallons of nonpotable water a day to the giant tissue maker’s waterfront factory. The plant consumes an average of 30 million gallons of water per day.
The pipes start at the reservoir on Federal Avenue and continue south on Nassau Street and W. Marine View Drive, southwest of downtown Everett.
In October, the Everett City Council agreed to pay Murray, Smith &Associates of Portland, Ore., up to $100,000 to evaluate the existing water line.
The civil engineering firm in late March is expected to release a final report. The report will likely recommend replacement of some stretches of the pipe and reinforcement of others, Thetford said.
Kimberly-Clark, which produces about 1 million rolls of paper products at its Everett plant every day, will pay for the replacement project out of its rates.
The biggest challenge is going to be keeping Kimberly-Clark in service through the construction, Thetford said.
Work could begin as soon as late spring and stretch throughout the summer.
A representative with Kimberly-Clark could not be reached for comment.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429, dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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