Gukovo's faulty glass water pipeline from Turkey causes outages

Water supply disruptions continue in Gukovo, Rostov Oblast, due to a failure on the Gukovo-Gundorovsky water pipeline. According to URSV Deputy Director Andrey Koshkarev, the problems are linked to a series of errors made during design and installation over ten years ago.

Koshkarev, speaking at a press conference at Interfax-Yug, explained that the latest rupture occurred at a depth of nine meters. «Due to design features and installation errors, the pipeline subsided to this depth. The subsiding soils are heavily waterlogged, so the glass couldn»t withstand it and deformed. There were many violations during installation and design. But we have to work with what we«ve got,» he stated.

Originally, during Soviet times, the water pipeline consisted of two pipes with a diameter of 1000 millimeters. In 2009, a major overhaul began, and it was planned to lay two plastic pipes of 900 millimeters each. However, as Koshkarev recounted, «someone decided that one glass (fiberglass) pipeline would be enough. And in the project, they replaced the main and backup pipes with one pipeline, essentially a »glass thing.«»

This fiberglass pipeline was manufactured in Turkey, and there are no spare parts for it in Russia. At the site of the recent failure, the pipeline had been «pulling» for five to six years, leading to slow destruction. «In the end, it couldn»t withstand it and burst at this spot. We made an iron insert; there was no other option there,« noted Koshkarev.

Rostov Oblast Deputy Governor Vladimir Revenko partially defended the material choice, stating that a fiberglass pipeline is in principle eternal, as it doesn«t rust and practically doesn»t decay, but only if installed correctly and with technology adherence.

The main problem, however, remains the lack of a duplicate line. Since its launch, over 400 failures have occurred on this pipeline. At the same time, maintenance is impossible because it is constantly in operation. «It»s impossible because it«s always working. You can»t change the engine or wheels on a moving car. Therefore, since construction, the pipeline has never been serviced,« Koshkarev explained.

Problems arise not only in winter. According to Revenko, in July, Gukovo was without water for five days due to a similar situation caused by voltage fluctuations. To detect leaks, it«s necessary to drain the pipeline and launch a special robot, but without a backup line, this is impossible.

Water supply in Gukovo is planned to be restored to normal by Monday. A major overhaul of the Gukovo-Gundorovsky water pipeline is scheduled to begin this year.