The Bradford City Water Authority plans to begin today replacing a malfunctioning water main valve along Campus Drive.

The project is expected to take three days, according to Steve Disney, authority executive director. No disruption in service is anticipated, but customers are asked to conserve water until Thursday morning.

Disney explained that “efforts have been underway over the past several weeks to diagnose issues with the valve, initially discovered during a leak repair on the 20-inch main transmission line coming into Bradford on Sunday, Nov. 25.”

“Since that time, our crews have continued to investigate and diagnose the operational issues with the 20-inch butterfly style valve,” he said, noting they were not able to repair the valve externally.

“We actually performed a complete excavation of the valve to conduct additional operational testing and evaluations; however, those results were not favorable,” Disney said.

The crew did determine what they believe is causing the issue.

“All investigations indicate that the internal valve vane is stuck in a partially closed position which limits the water flow capacity of the transmission main,” he explained.

Disney said that when the likely problem was diagnosed, they ordered materials and planned the immediate replacement of the valve. He reported that the materials needed should be available today, and he expects the crew to spend two days on site preparation and one day on removing the old valve and installing the new one.

“Wednesday, 12/19, is the target day for the actual removal and installation of the new valve,” he said. “Because the main transmission line into the system will be disrupted and the capacity of water flow reduced, as a precaution, we are requesting a voluntary water conservation effort beginning 8 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through 8 a.m. Thursday.”

Disney went on to explain, “All of our calculations indicate we can adequately maintain operational levels of water supply, but we want to err on the side of caution and have everyone be aware of the situation in case any unplanned circumstances should occur.”

If all goes well, customers should not be affected during the repairs.

He said, “All customers are expected to have adequate water pressure and supply during this entire project; no water service disruptions are planned.”