Xcel Energy still hasn’t figured out where water is seeping into natural gas lines in the Mayfair neighborhood.
Company spokesman Mark Stutz said 165 homes in an area bounded by Fairfax and Holly streets, East 12th Avenue and East Severn Place don’t have service, although residents along Holly from Severn to East Sixth Avenue had gas turned on Tuesday night.
“We have not found the source of the water or where it is entering our natural gas. We will continue to look. That’s the bad news,” Stutz said. “There’s still a mystery out there.”
On Wednesday, Xcel crews blew a mix of nitrogen and methanol through lines hoping to dry up the main pipes. They are preparing to do a second purge Wednesday afternoon, in hopes of getting service restored to the east Denver neighborhood by evening.
The problem with water is that it can split the pipes and cause rust. “It clogs up the meters, clogs up the lines,” Stutz said.
Estimate time for having problem fixed is tonight.
About 200 gas meters in the neighborhood will be replaced.
Residents with gas-fueled water heaters and stoves, who have been making do since Saturday, say they are frustrated by the problem.
Crews have been working dawn to midnight, digging deep holes in city streets as they search for the source of the water — and where it is entering pipes.
Dozens of Xcel trucks were parked in front of Tom Harshbarger’s home, near East 11th Avenue and Grape Street on Tuesday, and there were at least three massive pits in the middle of the street.
“Xcel has been working their butts off,” said Harshbarger. “But I’ll be glad to see the trucks gone. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
