Residents can continue to expect gas leaks within the City of Levelland as Atmos Energy continues to work on gas lines.
Gas leaks have become more of a common occurrence for Levelland residents in the past two months. Hockley County and Levelland Emergency Management Coordinater, Cole Kirkland explained there are to factors going on with the frequent reports of gas leaks. An updated and improved system for detecting gas leaks has been implemented by Atmos Energy and the aging infrastructure of the city plays a role. The system Atmos has incorporated is able to detect gas on a finer level. “The previous system they were using to detect gas was measured in parts per million,” said Kirkland. “The updated system they have in place now can detect gas at the parts per billion level now which means it is a lot easier to detect certain leaks that we otherwise wouldn’t have noticed.” Kirkland says Atmos has done a great job responding to the leaks that are reported across the city and have resolved the issues quickly. He also acknowledged that there have been a few instance of traffic being cut off or residents evacuated from certain areas for a long period of time. “The gas leaks on Hickory that have forced us to be there cutting off traffic for eight hours at a time are a result of an old steel gas line,” explained Kirkland. “I have talked with Atmos people and made sure the managers for the area aware the line needs to be replaced and updated with the current poly-line being used now.” As Atmos is plugging and fixing leaks across town, they are also working on fully replacing the aging lines in sections.
The large steel gas line that goes along Hickory is on the list for replacement, but that will addressed later in Atmos’s tier schedule.
“With all this being said, we are having a lot of indications of leaks because our equipment is better,” said Kirkland.
Aged infrastructure for the City of Levelland has presented issues for different entities across town.
The city is currently struggling to maintain the current waste water treatment facility in hopes of it holding out until the new one can be operational in a hand ful of years.
On the opposite side of the utility spectrum, Atmos is addressing the aging gas lines that are scattered across the city.
“There are a few steel lines remaining in the city’s infrastructure but we have been talking with Atmos to get different things like that taken care,” said Kirkland. “It’s been pretty smooth working with them because we share a common goal in that neither party wants to have leaks.”
For the process Atmos is going through to address sections at a time, Kirkland says Atmos has a dedicated team doing surveys in a certain area of town and will turn those indications in.
If residents have noticed gas leaks in clusters in a certain area, that is the reason according to Kirkland.
“That is why it feels like these leaks come in waves because of the indication tests,” said Kirkland. “For a week they will drive around doing these tests and then travel to another town for a week before coming back.”
If people within Levelland feel that there are gas leaks every three weeks, it is because the Atmos workers have returned to continue doing their indication tests.
While Kirkland is not sure how much of the old gas lines cover the City, he explained that Atmos has focused on the main portion of Levelland before stretching into the city’s additions.
Kirkland asks residents to exercise caution as traffic has to be redirected in various streets while some have been asked to evacuate their homes for an extended period of time.
“Atmos is doing a lot of lateral drilling to work on these gas lines since it is not too invasive to everyday life,” said Kirkland. “With that being said, it is still dangerous. Safety comes first before any convenience because the stakes of something happening can be serious.”