Added on October 7, 2024 Marcia Chartrand
Galloway Booster Station. Photo: Fritz Swanson.
Written by Marcia Chartrand
On September 20th at approximately 1:40 p.m., equipment failure caused two fires at the Galloway Drive booster station, causing significant damage. The only employee on site at the time did not call for help from colleagues, which exacerbated the problem.
The issue arose because an employee discovered a leak in the cooling line. The employee attempted to repair the cooling line without informing anyone of the problem. Employees did not fully depressurize the water line before making repairs, causing the water line to burst and 70 PSI of water hitting all electrical components. By the time he reported the problem to the water and sewer supervisor, power had already been lost to the booster station and a fire had broken out.
“I believe that if the staff had contacted their supervisors about the initial water outage, they could have responded responsibly and appropriately,” City Manager Michael Sessions said. “However, the employee attempted to resolve the issue without adequate backup on site or proper equipment to isolate the necessary valves.”
Sessions originally estimated the cost to the city would be between $15,000 and $20,000, but it ended up totaling $15,923.60. The insurance claim was filed on September 30th and was approved by the insurance company (deductible less than $1,000).
The entire situation was resolved by about 9pm that night, requiring several hours of staff and administrative overtime.
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Written by Marcia Chartrand
Marcia Johnson-Chartrand is the founder, writer and copy editor of the Manchester Mirror and has lived in Manchester for 50 years. She has a long history of volunteering and community involvement.
