Spanish Fort getting camera system to map drainage pipes, fix damage

Cameras would make finding and fixing lines safer for city workers

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SPANISH FORT – A new remote camera system will help Spanish Fort city workers locate damage to underground pipes without having to risk going into the lines themselves and could also allow the city to get a better understanding of where the system goes, city officials said.


The camera system will cost $115,111, according to city reports.


Casey Patterson, Spanish Fort public works director, said the new system will make finding damage and repairing breaks safer for city workers.


“Utilizing this we can inventory all of our storm drainage system that's underground,” Patterson said. “We can actually camera that and find out where those issues of deterioration are and start to identify places where we can develop a capital improvement plan to actually fix those.”


Mayor Mike McMillan said much of the stormwater drainage system was built before Spanish Fort was incorporated in the 1990s. He said officials are not certain where some of the lines are located.


“This will allow us to get to those older pipes that we don't even know where they really are to be honest with you because they were built so long ago. This will allow Casey and staff to start mapping out everything so we can have a strategic plan moving forward on all these projects like that. It's needed at this point,” McMillan said.


“We need to map all of our stormwater pipes in the city. This will give us a vehicle to make this a goal to accomplish,” McMillan added.


At press time, the council was scheduled to vote on final approval of the purchase on Monday, Dec. 6. The camera is scheduled to be delivered in 30 to 60 days. The city will pay $2,038.35 a month for 60 months under the lease-purchase agreement.

Spanish Fort, drainage, stormwater, camera