Schools

Gas Services Return to Newark Memorial

Two weeks after a report of a gas leak, heat and hot water are to return to the high school.

Gas services are being restored to Wednesday, nearly two weeks after a leakage in a pipe was found, school officials said Tuesday evening. 

Two repairs to the high school’s pipeline system have been completed and restoration of the gas service started at 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Elaine Neilsen, chief business official for .

“Bonetti Construction and two of our maintenance people are slowly turning on the service to each building.  We will need to continue this work through [Wednesday] morning,” Neilsen said in an email.

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Damages to the school’s pipeline were – days before the district’s week-long Thanksgiving break – after someone smelled a faint a scent of gas, according to district officials.

Tests conducted by Bonetti Construction found that located 4 feet underground near the high school’s pool wall. Repairs to that pipeline were completed by Thanksgiving break.

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But during pressure tests, a valve near the high school’s office was found to e not functional. That valve was also replaced during the latter part of the district’s Thanksgiving break.

Gas services into Newark Memorial High School were immediately shut off after the report of a gas leak made on Nov. 16, impacting heat and hot water at the school.

District officials have said that the disruption of the service did not impact school lunches and PG&E personnel said the school community is safe as long as the gas services are shut off.

PG&E Spokeswoman Monica Tell has said that the damaged pipeline is not a major pipeline.

PG&E and both were found to be free of leaks.

The June pipeline testing, known as hydrostatic pressure testing, is part of PG&E's efforts to test approximately 150 miles of pipelines in highly populated areas that have the same characteristics and age of , PG&E spokesman Brian Swanson has said.

Hydrostatic pressure testing has been used by natural gas transmission industries for more than 30 years and is a commonly accepted approach to testing pipelines, according to PG&E. For more information on hydrostatic pressure tests, visit the PG&E website here.


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