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Superintendent: gas-line leaks at Marlington High require phased repairs, pressure testing
Summary
Superintendent Swisser told the board the district discovered leaks in the original 8-inch gas pipe near the high school; contractors are installing a 3-inch replacement line, Columbia Gas will pressure-test the work, and reactivation of building systems will be phased while final costs remain uncertain.
Superintendent Swisser told the Marlington Local School District board the district detected a gas odor near the mall center outside Marlington High School and that subsequent inspection revealed problems in the original 8-inch distribution pipe.
Swisser said Columbia Gas and contractors inspected the line and initially tried to replace a section of the 8-inch main but found the pipe leaked throughout and required a different approach. He said the team identified a 3-inch pipe that could be pulled through the existing conduit and that crews worked to fuse and connect the smaller pipe around obstacles such as a 90-degree bend under the tennis courts.
"Once everything gets fused and then we go to the inspection phase...they're going to pressure test it and they're going to push gas through the group," Swisser said, describing a slow, stepwise process before individual building lines are shut and reactivated.
Swisser cautioned that final costs were not yet firm and described earlier informal contractor estimates as preliminary. He said a contractor suggested a very rough ballpark "about a half a million" dollars but called that figure tentative and emphasized donated materials and portions of the work that were not charged.
The administration said Columbia Gas must sign off on pipe approvals and seals and that the district will not fully restore gas service until inspections and pressure testing are complete. Swisser noted that some high-school HVAC zones use heat pumps and had been tested to provide temporary heating where possible during the outage.
The board did not take a separate formal action on the repair work during the meeting; the superintendent said the district is pursuing approvals, final cost estimates and a phased schedule for reactivating gas-fed systems.
