Title
Annual Update - Gas Distribution System
Body
The overall assessment of the gas system in Los Alamos County has not changed significantly since 2025, with the notable improvements of the system due to the completion of the Elk Ridge gas system replacement project, and now the upgrades being undertaken with the Trinity Dr. road and utilities upgrade project.
The restructuring of the GWS division to include a dedicated gas supervisor and crew has resulted in continued improvement to O&M work flows and realizing O&M goals each quarter.
The Los Alamos County gas distribution system is a very good system with ample capacity to serve the community and is generally in very good shape. DPU has invested in the system to address both capacity and age/condition issues over the past 25 years. There are, however, still some condition issues that need constant vigilance and continued commitment to resolving. Notably, isolated steel sections that are not known occasionally surface periodically and these require immediate attention to replace. Another condition issue is related to an early version of plastic pipe used in gas systems called Adyl-A pipe. This early plastic pipe becomes brittle over time and with use, and requires very careful handling when found, and is difficult to work with during repairs or when a new tap needs to be made on it.
One of the greatest set of challenges to the operation that occurred this year was related to the “virtual pipeline” delivery of CNG during the NMGC shutdown of the transmission line to Los Alamos to perform hydrostatic testing. The much higher level of odorant in the delivered gas resulted in a tremendous number of crew callouts when customers smelled gas. Many of the callouts were the result of pressure regulator fluctuations that vented very small amounts of gas at the meter, but many were the result of faulty and leaking appliances that require attention from the residents. There were also numerous pipe-fitt...
Click here for full text