Town plays smart ball to test pipe replacement needs

The town will soon have a better picture of the state of its wastewater pipe, which some worry may be nearing the end of its life.

Town Manager David Bullock said that a “smart ball” — which uses a sensor to identify locations where corrosion may be affecting the pipe, which are then confirmed using ultrasonic testing — was recently used to test the pipe.

The pipe runs from a master lift station on Gulf Bay Road across the bay to Bradenton and the Manatee wastewater plant.

The smart ball made it through the pipe intact, Bullock wrote in an email, and was retrieved Feb. 17.

Subcontractor Pure Technologies Ltd. officials have said they will have results of the smart ball’s journey by mid-April.

The pipe in question is 43 years old and made of ductile iron. Between 12,000 and 13,000 feet of the 16,000-foot pipe runs under the bay.

It is the sole path for sewage transmission  from Longboat Key.

The pipe was last assessed in 1996 and given a 25-year life expectancy.  

If it were to fail, Bullock said, a convoy of trucks would be used to take sewage off the Key, though Bullock has doubts about the viability of that method, given the volume of sewage and limited routes off of Longboat Key.

Bullock’s concerns about a single-point method of removing sewage prompted him to explore replacing the pipe.

Last summer, the Longboat Key Town Commission asked him to get an assessment of the existing pipe, which began in December.

Not everyone is concerned about the state of the pipe, though.

Lenny Landau, a resident and mechanical engineer, says there’s no evidence to indicate the immediate necessity of what could be $20 million to $25 million project.

“I think we need to let the inspection play out and see if there’s any real concern,” he said.

The town will spend approximately $500,000 on assessing that pipe, which includes between $200,000 and $300,000 for a study to determine the feasibility of various proposed routes for a new pipe.