The City of Mesa EFV Program Anthony Cadorin

The City of Mesa EFV Program Anthony Cadorin Gas Planning Engineer City of Mesa Natural Gas Division Mesa, Arizona

CNG Truck Driver

Program n Began installing EFVs January 1, 2008 n 7/17/2008 – Over 1200 installed

Where EFVs are Installed All New Single Family Residential Homes n At the tap wherever possible n – Stubs installed before January 1, 2008 use a mechanical coupling at the property line n Any maintenance/renewal work at the property line or at the tap

Why at the tap? 70 Total damages to service lines in 2006 52 Resulted in blowing gas 13 Damages in the street 11 Damages to new construction 2 Damages to lines with existing houses 25% of service line damages would not be protected by the EFV with it at the property line/back of curb

Where EFVs are NOT Installed n n n Branch services Multi-meter services Non-residential customers Maintenance or renewals that don’t expose the service at the property line or tap (I. e. riser replacement) Pre-determined areas with high contaminant levels Connections to stubs that already have an EFV at the tap

How EFVs are Installed Majority are ½” PE fusion tapping tees with 800 series EFVs n No additional cost incurred from the contractors n – Same amount of joints as before installing EFVs n Move away from “side saddle” aka “service saddle” or “branch saddle” – Shavings

Sizing 250 Class Service Meters 400 Class Service Meters 800 Class and 1000 Class Service Meters ½” CTS 600 Series 75 feet max. length 800 Series 45 feet max. length Not an option ½” IPS 800 Series 300 feet max. length 1800 Series 70 feet max. length 1” IPS 1800 Series 750 feet max. length

Purging and Testing City of Mesa does not test the EFVs n Purging – “purge at a slow flow to avoid tripping the EFV” n – Hands on training module to practice this n When the EFVs do trip, they are very quick to reset!

Trivia n How many gas guys does it take to replace a light bulb? n 2! One to remove the electrical outlet and one to pipe in the gas lamp

Obstacles for the City of Mesa EFV

Training “All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; and Third, it is accepted as selfevident. ” - Arthur Schopenhauer

Dirt & Debris n Clear out the mains whenever possible n Seal off the end of the pipes when installing the service line n Extra care to remove shavings

Cleaning Up “Dirty” Line Hits Test services to find the low point of the stretch of pipe n Dig up and purge all of it out of main n Visual inspection with camera truck n Flush it out with water n Dry with compressed air n ~1 Day n

Sleeving Standards n Previously used 1 -1/4” sleeving n If the appliance load or service length dictates a 1” service line, sleeving must be excavated n Now using 2” sleeving

Mixed Size Services ½” Stub 1800 Series EFV 1” Service Line Completion

“False-dead” Services n 3 rd Party Digs into a service stub no blowing gas n Assumes dead line – Maintaining level of 3 rd party awareness efforts – Leak survey sites before homes are installed

Questions? n Anthony. Cadorin@cityofmesa. org n (480) 644 -4851