Construction crews finished replacing inefficient galvanized iron water lines with new PVC ones in Herridge Lane, east of Baker Street.

Coming out of the ground, the 30-year-old lines looked like badly rusted tale pipes. Corrosion and buildup inside the pipes would make it hard to push a pencil through one. It wasn't uncommon to see sections of pipe with either holes or repair clamps.

By contrast, the modern PVC pipes won't corrode and are large enough to throw a football through.

Rob Nystrom, Manager of Engineering for the City of Nelson, was glad to see the galvanized pipes replaced.

"We had to repair them constantly," said Nystrom. "We're hoping we won't need to dig in this ally again for a long time."

Some older pipe materials used in Nelson include British-made steel, cast iron and ductile iron. These materials have been much more resilient than the galvanized iron introduced in the 1960s and 1970s.

The majority of Nelson's emergency repair work on water lines is to fix the galvanized iron pipes, despite their only representing about nine per cent of the pipes in Nelson.

They are also the cause of a significant amount of system losses because of the holes.

"We're certainly going to save some water with the new lines," said Nystrom, noting that area households and businesses could expect better water quality and pressure.

While the construction crews were working on the lane, they also added storm sewers and a fire hydrant. Pavers are expected to resurface the lane before winter.

The next sections of town slated to have galvanized iron water lines replaced are the 200 block of the ally below Baker Street, behind the Kootenay Coop and the 200 block of Silica.