Source: http://www.fdlreporter.com, September 1, 2016
By: Madeline Zukowski
Three gas main leaks in the month of August were caused as construction crews or city personnel hit gas lines.
On Aug. 5, city personnel were digging up a water main when they hit a four-inch gas line on Doty Street. Ten people were evacuated from their homes and both eastbound and westbound traffic on Johnson Street between Military and Macy Streets were closed for a half-hour during the morning commute.
On Aug. 18, a contractor hit a natural gas line near the intersection of Harbor View Drive and Winnebago Street, causing 15 buildings to be evacuated for an hour. A portion of Winnebago Drive closed during the incident.
A similar incident occurred on Aug. 29 near the intersection of Hickory Street and Tompkins Street, causing a portion of Hickory Street to be closed for two hours. The entirety of Tompkins Street as well as the employees at Milk Specialties were evacuated.
Jordan Skiff, the director of city’s Department of Public Works, said that the department coordinates with Alliant Energy to mark the different utility lines when crews are out working. The Public Works department owns the sewer, water and electrical lines, while Alliant owns the gas lines.
All three incidents were human error, said Scott Reigstad, the corporate communications manager at Alliant Energy. The gas lines do not have any current problems or issues.
Reigstad said that it is mandatory by state law that construction crews call the diggers hotline at 811 and mark all lines before digging. Within 18 inches of the lines, all digging must be done by hand.
“It’s generally an incident where whoever’s working the job is either not respecting the lines or things of that nature,” he said. “It’s never on purpose.”
If residents plan on digging on their property, they should call the digger’s hotline at 811 or 800-242-8511 well in advance to avoid hitting utility lines.