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Council schedules water-works hearing after crews find multiple leaks and a small tower valve failure
Summary
Town staff reported additional water-main leaks discovered by acoustic loggers and a pinhole leak in a water-tower valve; council set a public hearing on the preliminary engineering report for water-works improvements and discussed using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to help pay for projects.
Public-works staffer Ryan told the Woodburn council that acoustic loggers have identified multiple leaks in the town’s water system and that one small pinhole leak on a water-tower altitude valve requires a replacement part and a gauge. “We now have four leaks instead of three,” Ryan said, and reported that the valve repair will cost about $600 in parts.
The council scheduled a public hearing for the preliminary engineering report for the town’s water-works projects in the first or second week of June to move the work forward. The council also discussed whether tax increment financing (TIF) contributions could be applied to the work; Ryan said he would examine available TIF contributions as part of the project planning.
Why it matters: the leak-detection findings and the engineering report will guide which pipes need immediate repair, how much excavation and patching is required, and what funding sources the town may use. Ryan explained that some acoustic logger readings are offset by dozens of feet and that staff must re-measure with a wheel before excavation to avoid unnecessary digs. “When I actually go out and measure them with the wheel, I adjust the footage on them and it brings them [into alignment],” Ryan said.
What was said: the council heard that loggers are a useful early-detection tool but that the raw logger data can produce duplicate detections; staff moved a seismic sensor from Ash Street to the end of Carl Street to improve accuracy. Ryan added that the leak at the tower is a small pinhole in a pressure back-check valve and that the ordered part and gauge will be installed when they arrive. “It’s just spraying down there and dumping out the thing,” he said of the tower leak.
Budget and next steps: Ryan estimated material costs of roughly $600 for the valve repair and described a plan to confirm leak locations before contracting repairs. The public hearing on the preliminary engineering report will be used to collect public input and formalize the project scope, after which the council will consider financing options, including potential TIF contributions. No vote on financing occurred at the meeting.
The council did not take a formal funding vote during this session; the hearing and the engineering report are the next procedural steps.
