Hibbing Public Utilities’ steam heat system took a pounding from last week’s heavy rainstorms.
So much so that the steam heat pipes themselves were banging.
“We had more than five inches of rain within 24 hours,” Luke Peterson, Hibbing Public Utilities general manager said. “We had two feet of water on Howard Street.”
All that water had to go somewhere.
It ended up within underground concrete vaults that hold the utility’s steam heat pipes.
“It’s what happens when you get this much water,” Peterson said. “It’s got to go somewhere and it’s the steam heat system.”
Major breaks occurred within steam heat pipe joints and fittings as pressure was introduced back into the pipes after pressure had dropped due to the breaks, Peterson said.
The breaks impacted pipes that carry steam heat and hot water to residences, businesses and Fairview Range Medical Center, he said.
“The pipes were banging in our 14-inch steam lines,” Peterson said. “When pressure came back up, we broke fittings all over town. We had eight major breaks.”
Major breaks are behind Park State Bank, Chamernick Liquor, the Hibbing Business Center, under Sixth Avenue East in a south Howard Street alley, at Seventh Ave. East and 19th Street, behind 722 Michigan Street, in the 500 block of 21st Street.
A sewer leak also occurred on the main steam main from city hall.
Initial damage estimates are about $2.1 million, Peterson said.
However, once the major breaks are repaired, it’s possible the utility could find additional breaks, he said.
To compensate for the loss of pressure from leaking joints and fittings, the utility is running its biomass-fired boiler at a rate comparable to what it runs in January, Peterson said.
As of Wednesday, the utility was using 15 truck loads of biomass per day to keep pressure up within the system, he said.
At this time of year, the utility would normally use five truck loads of biomass per day, Peterson said.
The utility is using biomass because it’s the cheapest form of energy that the utility can provide to customers, he said.
For now, the system is stabilized, Peterson said.
But fixing the eight major breaks may not be the end of it, he said.
“Our system is stable now, but we’re not done assessing the potential for further damage,” Peterson said. “Once we fix the big ones, there could be others.”
The PUC is working with its insurance company on the damages and will look for other support, Peterson said.
As a whole, Hibbing fared better than some other northeastern communities, Mayor Pete Hyduke said.
“We were probably a little more fortunate compared to other communities,” Hyduke said. “We did have a low area of Hibbing where people had some damage to their basements and we’ve put out containers which we will pick up to help them.”
Hyduke thanked elected officials from both sides of the political aisle and Gov. Tim Walz, for responding to the situation.
The city, he said will seek other avenues of support for homeowners and businesses, Hyduke said.
Josh Brinkman, St. Louis County Emergency Management coordinator, said only seven communities out of dozens impact by the storms have so far compiled damage estimates.
“A lot of folks are facing public infrastructure damage,” Brinkman said. “Now that they’re trying to catch their breath, they will look at damage estimates.”
The initial estimated damage to public infrastructure in St. Louis County is $5.4 million and could rise to $10 million, he said.
That doesn’t include damage to private property.
“Private property numbers will be reported out to FEMA and looked at on a case-by-case basis,” Brinkman said. “Teams from FEMA could be sent up to meet with homeowners and businesses.”
Unfortunately, any financial assistance from FEMA to homeowners or business would mostly come in the form of low-interest loans, not grants, Brinkman said.
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