PG&E Retests Ruptured Peninsula Gas Line
WOODSIDE (KCBS) – A natural gas transmission line, which ruptured in Woodside last week, has been retested with everything turning out OK.
The rupture in the Woodside portion of Line 132, the same pipeline that exploded in San Bruno last year, caused water and debris to flood Interstate 280, with traffic affected for hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Brian Swanson said that because hydrostatic pressure testing can nearly double the normal gas pressure in the line, they were able to find the weakness.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
"The pipe ruptured at that location where the dent was," Swanson said. "We were able to get in, cut out that piece of pipe and replace it with new pipe."
He said the pre-existing, unreported dent was caused by a backhoe or similar mechanical equipment. So far this year, PG&E has done 60 hydrostatic pressure tests on about 120 miles of pipeline.
"We prioritized pipelines that have similar characteristics to the line that ruptured in San Bruno," said Swanson. "Hydrostatic testing is going to become a regular part of our integrity management program going forward, so we'll these tests on hundreds of miles of our pipeline."
The Woodside rupture is one of two problems found through testing in the Bay Area. Earlier this month, PG&E found and repaired a pinhole-sized leak on Line 132 in Palo Alto.
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