The Knox Water Department’s list of proposed summer projects includes tying homes that are on a 2.5 inch galvanized line in to an existing 6 inch line. The old line on Brown Circle was run in the 1950s to accommodate trailer housing for Kingsbury Ordinance Plant employees during the Korean War. Knox Water Superintendent Todd Gardner told the board of works the homes built there in the 1960s just used the existing lines. Even though the city upgraded the area later, only a few homes are tied into the new line.
Gardner hopes to change that this summer and vacate the 2.5 inch line. He says when the time comes a contractor will be hired to go into the homes and move the plumbing from the back to the front. The city would then tie them into their system. Homeowners would not be charged, since they are already water department customers.
Gardner estimates switching all 10 homes to the 6 inch water line will cost between $15 and $20,000. He says there should be adequate money
the budget to at least start on the project this summer. Eventually the city will need to extend the line around Brown Circle and switch the rest of the houses there over. Right now six homes have water mains running underneath them with lines that are only between 24 and 30 inches deep. Should one leak, Gardner says the city will be responsible for any structural damage that might occur.
No timeline has been set for the work. It still requires approval from the Knox City Council.
