A Denver Water foreman failed to pass on critical information before work began on a water main that led to the death of a worker in October, according to an internal investigation made public Friday.
Shawn Patilla, 35, was killed Oct. 12 when a high-pressure water line unexpectedly released a tremendous rush of water into a 6-foot-deep excavation pit where he was working in the 4100 block of South University Boulevard, opposite the entrance to the Cherry Hills Country Club.
The utility blamed Patilla’s death on human error, not on mechanical failure or the condition of the pipe.
Denver Water officials wouldn’t name the foreman or say how he was disciplined. He is a 25-year employee with a good safety record who cooperated fully with the investigation, said Trina McGuire-Collier, Denver Water spokeswoman.
The three-week probe by the water utility revealed that Patilla’s foreman failed to pass on information to the crew that a 24- inch conduit had not been drained and was fully pressurized.
The crew’s routine job that night was to remove an 8-inch line and reconnect it to a newer pipe that had been installed earlier in the summer.
Initially, the 24-inch conduit was expected to be drained. But it was decided the job could be accomplished without draining the conduit, which would avoid temporarily disrupting water service to dozens of homes.
The foreman reportedly told investigators he thought the crew had overheard a discussion about the conduit not being drained, but he didn’t directly tell them it would be pressurized.
He also assumed a valve was bolted to the conduit, the investigation determined. Instead, it was a few feet from the conduit attached by pipe and steel restraining rods.
When the rods were cut and a small section of the pipe was removed, the valve and remaining length of pipe “separated violently from the conduit, flooding the excavation with water and causing the fatal injuries to Patilla,” according to a Denver Water statement Friday.
The investigation was conducted by the utility itself and not the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which doesn’t have jurisdiction over other governmental entities.
As a result of the probe, Denver Water officials said they were tightening safety and communications procedures for working on water mains. The utility is reviewing and revising its communications standards for valve and pipe crews as well as its methods for alerting crews when field conditions change, according to a statement.
The utility said it is also reviewing its procedures for working around pressurized mains and conduits and for providing detailed historical information to pipe crews before a job begins.
Patilla is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. He was a five-year employee of Denver Water.
Attempts to reach his family for comment were unsuccessful Friday.
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer may be reached at 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
