Urban planning

Where are Berkeley’s gas pipelines?

September 13, 2010 10:10 am by Lance Knobel

In the aftermath of the San Bruno gas explosion, many Berkeleyans may be wondering where the pipelines are located in our city.

Berkeleysider Alan Tobey uncovered the National Pipeline Mapping System, a government-run geographic information system created by the Department of Transportation, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminstration, and the Office of Pipeline Safety.

The NPMS Public Map Viewer was overloaded throughout the weekend as thousands of people researched what pipelines crossed their towns, but Tobey persisted and captured the screengrab above. The red line shows a hazardous liquid pipeline and the green is a gas transmission pipeline.

The NPMS cautions that its information is for reference only. Anyone engaged in excavation should call 811 for more detailed information.

Update A spokesperson for PG&E said to Berkeleyside that the company routinely does leak surveys of its transmission and distribution lines on a three-year cycle. The current cycle is due for completion in December. But PG&E will comply with any instructions it receives from the California Public Utilities Commission following the San Bruno explosion. The CPUC yesterday ordered PG&E to inspect its natural gas system.

14 Comments

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  • TN

    The petroleum pipeline runs along the Union Pacific Rail Road tracks by Aquatic Park. There appear to be two pipelines, one on each side of the tracks, which are clearly marked by metal flag stakes. The pipelines are operated by Kinder Morgan. The western side pipe appears to run under a part of what appears to be land within Aquatic Park. I don’t know where the property line is between the Union Pacific right of way and the park land owned by the City, so I can’t say for sure.

    The rail road right of way also has fiber optic cables running under it which are operated by Sprint. Sprint was a subsidiary of Southern Pacific Rail Road which owned the rail road right of way before being spun off. SP then merged with UP.

  • kayo

    The NTSB maps go to a much higher resolution, and show the gas pipeline as running down 7th St., eventually jogging over to San Pablo. I live on 7th St. and there is no indication anywehre that a natural gas transmission line runs under the street — no notice re: digging or anything.

  • Anon

    Well, unlike in San Bruno, they are not near a known fault line.

  • EBGuy

    Can anyone speak to the “green” line? Which street does this run along?

  • kayo

    see my comment above re: green line.

  • EBGuy

    Thanks kayo, I mistook your description for the Red Line; I should have been paying more attention to the jog (and the fact you named the gas line, which is green).

  • http://www.berkeleyfriendschurch.org BrianY

    Kayo or anyone else, can you provide a link to the NTSB maps? I couldn’t get the NPMS map viewer to work.

    And re: the green line on the map above, it is about right for Seventh/Sixth St, but there’s no jog over to San Pablo as Kayo suggests–SP is marked as CA Rt 123 on the above map. So there would appear to be a discrepancy between the NPMS and whatever records the NTSB has.

    Thanks.

  • Joan

    Does anyone know where the minor major east-west pipelines are laid? For instance, I was told some years ago that a big pipe runs up Alston that carries gas to UC but I never knew if this was true or how big the pipe is.

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  • TJ

    That really big gas line ruptured at 7th and Carleton in the late 80′s, I recall it was a pretty dramatic fire and left a crater in the road. We lived at 7th and Bancroft – nobody knew anything about at the time, and I don’t recall any mention of it since. PG&E couldn’t put out the fire for many hours, evidently there was at least one valve that was broken or inoperable so they were running around with backhoes digging up different intersections to find a way to shut it off. Meanwhile the fire dept was on site hosing down the buildings, phone poles, etc. to keep them from catching fire. The flame was at least two or three stories high.

    yep, it can happen here too.

  • http://stefanco.com Stefan Lasiewski

    The City of Berkeley has maps for many of these things. You could ask there. The Planning Department may be able to help. There’s a fascinating number of systems (water, gas, power, high-voltage power, sewers) under the street.

    Several years ago I used to attend some emergency preparedness meetings, and I saw several maps showing the big gas pipeline next to Highway 80.

    The Main Branch of the Berkeley Public Library also has many maps which are relevant today, although I don’t know if they have gas line maps.

  • Ephemerol

    I am sorry to report that as with many things in life the real picture does not really emerge at first sight or noticewith such things. Let me contain my thoughts and experiential reality to what are called 6″ high pressure gas lines throughout the City of Berkeley at varied depths. I lived right next to one on M. L. King @ Francisco the day that a secondary contractor ruptured this very said pipeline in the late ’80s before the ’89 quake. It was the middle of the early afternoon also. Total hell was to follow along with an amazing and to this day an inexplicable reaction form the local Berkeley Police Department dispatcher as I tried to focus her mind on the dangers that this rupture presented. I am still angry after all of these years as she just blew it off saying “Yeah, we know all about that…” and “end of conversation”. This after even the independent contractors fled in terror. No police ever came, no fireman every did either and the noise was just like the San Bruno mega blast. Even when you plug your ears, it makes no difference in your apartment as per the 747 runway idle jet noise. Briefly, after being overcome by the gas fumes and fearing for my life, I evacuated my residence and left for many hours until P.G. & E. managed to shut this leak off ( it takes forever by the way ). So to sketch a more complete and real portrait of what is really what in the city, you have to get to deeper levels and sources. Ask any P.G. E. technician or manager on the street here what they are most fearful of and they have told me that it’s the 6″ high pressure gas mains when they rupture like that. I wonder how many miles those high pressure lines really run through Berkeley? I suspect now we have a small ( very small ) chance of finding out as well as what are the emergency shut off values really set up to do ( there aren’t any unless that is new information ). I have been told by a P.G.& E. worker at a local emergency services lecture that we will all have to wait for them to be turned off by hand in case of any major earthquake or disaster. Let’s all hope that now, after this Armageddon in San Bruno, that all of these issues will be addressed State wide as well as City wide here, just 2 km and less from the Hayward fault line.

  • pete moss

    the pipelines that run on the railroad track right of way are gasoline, diesel and jet fuel pipelines from the refineries in Contra Costa County to the Oakland airport. I believe it may extend to the San Jose airport. There’s another set of jet fuel/gasoline pipelines that run along the 680 corridor from Martinez to Santa Clara county.

    Kinder Morgan if i;m not mistaken runs liquid petroleum fuel pipelines, not natural gas.

    Jet fuel is similar to #1 diesel fuel or Kerosene and is “less” of an explosion issue than natural gas or gasoline, It’s heavier than natural gas, does not evaporate very well and is technically not flammable – (flammable in the technical sense of having a flash point below 140 degrees F), but a jet fuel fire can consume your house and toast you to a crisp too just not as fast and probably won’t explode.

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