City utilities staff told the council Oct. 21 that Kingman has seen a multi‑year surge in service‑line leaks largely caused by failures in 3/4‑ to 1‑inch polyethylene (PE) service pipe and presented operational data and a budgetary replacement estimate.

Utilities presenter Keelan said crews responded to 2,558 leak‑related calls in FY2024 and about 3,133 in FY2025; for FY2026 to date (since July 1) staff have responded to about 1,582 leak calls. Keelan said roughly 90% of leaks are on 3/4‑ to 1‑inch PE service lines installed roughly 20 years ago; mainline breaks are relatively few. The city currently has a distribution staff of 14 operators; staff said they budgeted for a third operations/service crew but have had hiring shortfalls and lost two hires during onboarding.

Keelan presented peer data for context: City of Phoenix reported about 800 leak/main repairs in the same period with a much larger distribution staff and more meters; Lake Havasu and Bullhead City provided figures showing substantially fewer repairs or different staff counts and system sizes. Keelan said replacement work is time‑ and labor‑intensive: a repair band typically takes under an hour, while a full service‑line replacement can take 4–8 hours and cost roughly $2,500–$4,500 per service line. With redirected funds the city has performed roughly 350 full service‑line replacements to date and has allocated about $350,000 per year for replacements, which yields on the order of 100–150 replacements annually at current cost assumptions.

Staff reviewed a conceptual capital project to replace service lines in pavement preservation districts 3 and 4: an estimated 2,200 service‑line replacements at an estimated cost of $10 million, including pavement restoration. Keelan said staff are seeking grant options and other financing and will continue to track leaks, prioritize repeat locations for full replacement and expand asset management systems. Councilmembers asked about causes, cost comparisons, and the trade‑off between repeated clamp repairs and full replacements; staff reiterated that strategy favors replacing lines after repeated leaks but that volume and budget constraints have created a backlog.

No formal action was required; staff said the report is informational and will guide budgeting and grant pursuit.