Staff recommends targeted replacements on SH-66 force main after repeated breaks

City engineering staff told the Rowlett City Council they recommend targeted replacement of the most exposed sections of the 36-inch force main that crosses the SH-66 commercial corridor, after repeated breaks and ongoing odor complaints.

Molly Pearson, the engineer of record, said the pipe (installed in 1995 as a concrete-lined ductile iron force main) is failing at high-elevation points where corrosive sewer gases collect and attack the ductile iron. She recounted the emergency response after a break near a McDonald's and said, "We received a phone call from the city after a force main break... we need to install a new force main pronto." Pearson and interim public works director Gary Enna described a proposed approach that focuses on replacing short, problem sections with corrosion-resistant materials such as PVC or HDPE and adding buffer sections at either end so the new pipe matches the inside diameter of the existing system.

Staff said a full-length replacement would be substantially more expensive and disruptive in a congested commercial right-of-way that includes many driveways and utilities. The recommended compromise is to replace the sections that are exposed to air at the high points (including the stretch in front of McDonald's and near Walmart) and to plan future capacity improvements, including a potential parallel force main, as part of a wastewater model update. Council members asked for deeper information about how low the new alignment could be placed, whether utility conflicts would prevent lowering the line and whether emergency repairs were fully documented; staff said they would retrieve records and include contingencies and bid alternates to reduce post-bid change orders.

Next steps: staff placed the force-main replacement on the consent agenda for the next regular meeting but answered council questions in the work session; members requested follow-up on project depth options, utility conflicts and documentation of prior emergency repairs.