Crews to repair cracked pipe at surface water intake facility

City of Bend utility crews will be conducting temporary repair work at the city’s water intake facility adjacent to the Tumalo Falls parking area. The work is scheduled to begin within the next week and last up to a few days. Visitors to the popular National Forest recreation area may see construction crews at work.

The surface water supply is currently shut down for new pipeline construction work. During the shutdown, crews used the opportunity to inspect approximately 32 feet of the 24-inch diameter water pipe that exits the intake facility. The video inspection showed some cracking in the wall of the steel pipe. A follow-up visual inspection confirmed the damage.

The pipe that is cracked is the original line that was installed in 1926 to convey drinking water from Bridge Creek to the City of Bend. In addition to welding the cracked portion of pipe, crews will also be hand digging in the immediate area to examine the exterior of some portions of the pipe to see if additional repairs are needed.

The entire intake facility and 10-mile pipeline is scheduled to be replaced as part of the Bridge Creek Pipeline Replacement Project. Construction of the pipeline portion of the project began in March. Replacement of the intake facility will begin when litigation is resolved. For more information, visit bendoregon.gov/BridgeCreekPipeline.