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Resident urges Rapid City to plan replacement of leaking polybutylene feeder lines after neighborhood damage
Summary
A Ridge View/Panorama Circle resident told the committee that about 56 polybutylene feeder lines to curb stops are leaking, causing land movement and loss of "acre feet" of water, and asked the city to create a phased replacement plan; council asked staff to follow up with the neighborhood.
Tim Braden, a resident speaking during public comment, told the Rapid City Public Works Committee that his neighborhood along Ridge View Road and Panorama Circle is experiencing repeated leaks in polybutylene curb‑stop feeder lines that have caused visible land‑movement and ponding.
Braden said the neighborhood was developed decades ago and connected to city water in 1999; he said feeder lines between the city main and the curb stop are polybutylene and that about "56 leaking lines" exist in the area. "We're already seeing some very significant land movement and landslide type stuff happening. I mean, we're talking trees sliding away and that type of thing because these leaks can go unnoticed for long periods of time and to the point where we're losing acre feet of water," he told the committee.
Braden asked the committee to record the history and urged staff to develop a replacement plan, even if phased, acknowledging costs and manpower limits. He noted many homeowners have replaced service lines on their side of the curb stop but that the city‑side feeder (curb stop to main) remains polybutylene and vulnerable.
Follow up: after Braden's remarks a committee member asked staff ("Mike, can you possibly get somebody with him in the near future from your department?") to connect with the resident and the neighborhood; staff did not give a detailed timeline during the meeting. No formal action was taken on the matter during the June 30 meeting.
