Last week, Energy & Water Services (EWS) steamfitters completed another repair on the District Energy System (DES) network off the Bioenergy Research Facilities (Bioenergy Facility). This repair was needed as this particular heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) line has been out of commission for over a year.
The EWS Steamfitters detected a leak with our system’s leak detection program and pinpointed the area of the leak. Fortunately, after excavation, the team confirmed that the leak wasn’t caused by a line break, but by water infiltrating the piping and corroding and eroding from the outside of the pipe.
Corroded and eroded pipes.
Due to improper sealing of the pre-insulated piping system, the EWS Steamfitters have completed numerous leak detection repairs to mitigate impacts to the UBC hot water system.
All saturated piping was removed and replaced; new piping was installed with proper sealing so water cannot infiltrate the system again.
Kudos to the EWS Steamfitters team — Michael Carroll, Steven Blackett, Brett Harris, Tyler Cudmore, and Norman Esplana, and District Energy System Process Specialist, Kevin Phelan for another great job done and completing this repair ahead of schedule!