Gas pipeline right of ways (Houston, Beaumont: real estate, houses, neighborhoods)

[texas7]

How close is too close to live near a gas pipeline right of way? So many of the area neighborhoods have some sort of gas pipeline right of way behind the last row of houses. So how close is too close - would 4-6 houses away still be too close? Seems like these pipelines are everywhere and thereis no avoiding them (or is there)?

[Poltracker]

Depends on the pipeline. You have your typical utility (natural gas) pipelines which can range in size from service pipelines to individual homes to larger trunk lines. Then you have the large transport pipelines which can be high pressure or low pressure that transport everything from oil to oil derived gasses (maybe several different things in the same pipeline at different times). There may be several pipelines in a row. Historically, the typical residential (utility) natural gas lines have caused more issues than the transport lines, but I personally would avoid living too close to one of the transport lines as it might hinder resale value.

You can get info on the pipelines by calling the number on the marker or by calling the Texas Railroad Commission. You can look at maps here: http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/data/online/index.php#

[crone]

When I told the real estate agent that we wanted far from pipelines, she thought I was nuts. After explaining residential distribution pipelines were OK, we just did not want a large one. She still thought I was nuts. Klein builds schools within 200 feet of a large distribution line. A close by subdivision built a park on top of one. Houstonians love pipelines.

[piyf]

Houstonians love pipelines? It's the nature of the beast living in Houston.

[Oildog]

Pipelines are all over Houston, afterall we account for near 40% of the US petrochemical production.

[crone]

Friend of mine has been moving product through pipelines for 30 years. We lived in another state when one in Houston blew up some years back. She just laughed and said it would take a couple of weeks to figure out whose it was, they are so close together.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by crone

Friend of mine has been moving product through pipelines for 30 years. We lived in another state when one in Houston blew up some years back. She just laughed and said it would take a couple of weeks to figure out whose it was, they are so close together.

There actually have not been that many transport lines that have blown up in the last 40 years. Other than the San Jac River fire where the houses were already under water, I can think of only one in this area that actually destroyed homes. I believe that was in 1970 over at West Rd and Airline in north Houston. I recall one over off of Federal and Woodforest, another off of 290 (actually 2 out that way both construction related) and one out near New Caney where some idiot vandal decided a backhoe at a construction site would be fun to play with. Of course the big blast at the salt domes in Brenham was not actually a pipeline. There may have been a few others but none that come immediately to mind.

[crone]

Maybe it was the one in Kaufman. As old as I am, 20 days, 20 years. It is all the same. I apologize for not being more specific. Will ask about next time I see her.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by Poltracker

There actually have not been that many transport lines that have blown up in the last 40 years. Other than the San Jac River fire where the houses were already under water, I can think of only one in this area that actually destroyed homes. I believe that was in 1970 over at West Rd and Airline in north Houston. I recall one over off of Federal and Woodforest, another off of 290 (actually 2 out that way both construction related) and one out near New Caney where some idiot vandal decided a backhoe at a construction site would be fun to play with. Of course the big blast at the salt domes in Brenham was not actually a pipeline. There may have been a few others but none that come immediately to mind.

I'll never forget that day of the Brenham blast. I lived in Katy in the early 90's, and I can still recall getting ready to go into work. I was usually in early, but I had to change my schedule a bit because of some work at the office, so I went in a little late. Sometime between 07:00 - 8:00 time frame, I was sitting on the edge of my bed just 'waking up', looking out the window at some plants I put in the weekend before. Then I heard boom, and all the windows in my house vibrated like a huge truck had just pulled up in my driveway, or someone hitting my windows with their fist. It was a nice cool sunny day, so it was not thunder. I got into work, and I think by lunch time, it was on the news. This predates the Internet as we know it, so news was not as instant as it is now. That was one big explosion that people even as far away as Beaumont heard and felt the shock waves.

Let's also not forget what happened in San Bruno near San Francisco recently, that was a neglected pipeline that destroyed a whole section of a neighborhood before they could turn off the gas.

[texas7]

I checked it on the map - a pipeline r.o.w. behind a neighborhood I was looking at ... Map shows a gas transmission line plus several HVL and Non-HVL products line.