Last modified at 12:43 a.m. on Saturday, September 2, 2000

Weather stresses gas lines, water mains

By LISA M. SODDERS The Capital-Journal

The long stretch of hot, dry weather in Topeka is taking its toll on more than just people -- water mains, gas lines and air conditioning units also are being affected.

"Hot, dry weather does sometimes cause settling of the soil around the foundation of homes, which can cause undue stress on a (gas) meter and might result in a leak," said Diana Buechle, manager of community relations for Kansas Gas Service. "We have had some instances where this was the case, and we found a leak outside a house at the meter."

"But I want to remind customers that we respond to these situations just as quickly as we do any leak, and as we check the meter, we also survey the customer's service lines, checking for leaks," she said.

Kansas Gas Service employees have been reminded to pay special attention to any signs of undue stress to a meter and to report it, Buechle said.

If customers smell gas or hear a hissing noise, however, they should leave the house immediately without turning on or off any lights or appliances and without lighting matches or lighters. They should call Kansas Gas Service from a neighbor's house or other safe place.

Travis Whitt, office manager with Joe Little, general contractor, 2713 N.W. Topeka Blvd., said homeowners might want to keep the soil around their sidewalks and home foundations moist by watering it at least once a week to prevent water from getting into the basement or sidewalks from sinking with the next big rain. Watering the foundation can be helpful to the gas meters, Buechle said, but if homeowners haven't been doing it all along, it probably isn't going to make much difference now.

Mike Teply, acting water superintendent for Topeka, said the department has had an extremely high number of water main breaks, beginning around July 4, due to the age of the water mains and the dry weather conditions and heat. Most of the breaks have been in the larger mains and don't affect the lines that run from the water meters to houses.

Greg Hunsicker, vice president of McElroy's Inc., 3209 S.W. Topeka Blvd., said the company has been getting a lot of emergency calls, particularly between 8 and 10 a.m. and 5 and 7 p.m., the latter time when people come home from work and discover their air conditioner has quit working.

"We're definitely having more emergency breakdowns compared to normal," Hunsicker said. "But we haven't had weather like this since I don't know when. Generally, this time of year, if people are having a problem, they just decide to limp on by, and get it taken care of next year. Well, limping on by doesn't cut the mustard when it's 105 degrees outside."

It would help if more homeowners got into the habit of ongoing routine maintenance on their units, he said. Outdoor condenser coils that haven't been tended to regularly get blocked by cottonwood seed and other debris and a compressor that doesn't cool properly when it is expected to run virtually nonstop is a compressor that is going to break down.

Cynthia McCarvel, KPL spokeswoman, said Topeka set a record usage Monday of 2,485 megawatts, which broke the previous record of 2,430 set Aug. 16, but so far, there haven't been any brownouts.

Consumers can use their energy wisely by setting their air conditioner at one temperature and leaving it there -- turning the AC up and down increases the size of your bill because it forces the air conditioner to work harder.

"When you're playing the juggling game, then the air inside is not as cool and the humidity is building up," McCarvel explained. "The air conditioner is removing that humidity out of your home and the more times it has to remove it, the harder it has to work."

Keeping curtains and blinds closed during the day keeps direct sunlight out, making the house cooler, she added. Fans help circulate the air in a room so it doesn't get stale, and consumers also should look into whether their attics and crawlspaces are well-ventilated, "because that's just hot, stuffy air that's sitting on top or below the house," she said.

McCarvel also recommended using microwave ovens or toaster ovens to prepare meals instead of a regular oven, doing laundry only in the cooler early morning and late evening hours, and keeping as many unnecessary lights turned off as possible. Also, a light or television close to the thermostat can cause the air conditioning to kick on and off more often than it should.

http://cjonline.com/stories/090200/com_gaswatermains.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 02, 2000