New Enbridge pipeline will be double current thickness throughout county
By Carrie Napoleon Post-Tribune correspondent October 24, 2012 4:58PM
Updated: November 26, 2012 7:15AM
All of the about 10.5 miles of new Enbridge pipeline to be installed in Lake County will be double the thickness of the existing pipe.
Following a meeting between the Lake County Surveyor’s Office and Enbridge officials, the company has agreed to increase the thickness of the pipe throughout the county instead of just at the drains it must run under, according to Surveyor George Van Til. “We are very pleased about that,” Van Til said.
The county has three regulated drains, Turkey Creek, the Turkey Creek Extension and the Caugherty Tile, in the path of the pipeline and one unregulated drain, Deep River.
“Deep River is not a legal regulated drain but it is an important part of our county drainage system,” Van Til said.
Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman for Enbridge, confirmed Enbridge will use a pipeline with walls of at least .5 inch throughout Lake County with it increasing in thickness to .625 inches near wetlands and under drains to address safety concerns raised by officials. The current pipelinehas walls measuring .25 inch. “With 100 percent increased wall thickness and a 35 percent increase in the steel strength of the pipe to be used, it increases the pipeline’s ability to withstand external and internal stresses,” Smith said.
Smith said the new pipeline will have 24-hour monitoring of pressures and conditions from Enbridge’s control center with remote shut-down capabilities as the current pipeline does. The company has been installing new flow meters and other equipment along the existing lines as part of its leak detection instrumentation improvement program.
“The new line will have this technology built in as well,” she said.
Van Til said Enbridge also agreed to follow county standards on the drains inside the cities and towns the pipeline will cross because the county has more strict drainage regulations.
