SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO

Incident Narrative

ON FEBRUARY 18, 2014 SOCALGAS WAS NOTIFIED OF A GAS LEAK AT 9506 CENTRAL AVE IN MONTCLAIR. MONTE VISTA WATER DISTRICT INDICATED THEY WERE WORKING ON A WATER LEAK ON THEIR MAIN IN THE INTERSECTION OF CENTRAL AVE AND PALO VERDE AND DETECTED GAS WHILE EXCAVATING. GAS CREWS RESPONDED AND CONFIRMED LEAKAGE AND THAT THE WATER HAD ENTERED THE GAS MAIN. THE WATER CREWS ISOLATED THE WATER MAIN AT THE INCURSION POINT AND SOCALGAS EXCAVATED AND REPAIRED THE GAS LEAK WITH A CLAMP. WHILE THE GAS LEAK WAS BEING BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL, SOCALGAS BEGAN INVESTIGATING THE AREA TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF THE WATER INCURSION. NUMEROUS LOCATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED DUE TO LOW ELEVATION AND ENDS OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AS WATER EXTRACTION POINTS. OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FIVE DAYS, APPROXIMATELY 6,100 GALLONS OF WATER WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE GAS LINES AND 1,751 IMPACTED METERS WERE REPLACED. AS OF 22:00 ON 2-23-14, ALL IMPACTED CUSTOMERS HAD EITHER BEEN RESTORED OR, IF CONTACT COULD NOT BE MADE BECAUSE OF VACANT RESIDENCES, MEMOS WERE PLACED ON THE ACCOUNTS AND LITERATURE LEFT AT THE RESIDENCE ON HOW TO CONTACT SOCALGAS FOR RESTORATION OF GAS SERVICE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE WATER MAIN, LOCATED PERPENDICULAR TO AND DIRECTLY ABOVE THE GAS MAIN HAD A CORROSION LEAK ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PIPE. THAT WATER LEAK, OVER TIME, BORED A HOLE INTO THE TOP OF THE GAS MAIN. THE WATER PRESSURE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100 PSIG AND THE GAS WAS OPERATING AT 45 PSIG WHICH ALLOWED THE WATER TO ENTER THE GAS MAIN. THE GAS MAIN WAS REPAIRED WITH A CLAMP, THE WATER MAIN WAS REPLACED AT THE CROSSING. THIS INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO PHMSA DUE TO THE ANTICIPATED COSTS OF THE INCIDENT WOULD EXCEED $50,000. THIS INCIDENT WAS ALSO REPORTED TO THE CPUC.