The one-year replacement project of a critical pipe at the city’s water treatment plant was featured in a multi-page spread in the most recent issue of the Florida Water Resources Journal. The article details the painstaking, methodical coordination between city staff, the design team and construction contractor.
The 36-inch pipe was identified as the most critical pipe in the city’s water distribution system because all finished water runs through it on its way from the plant to thousands of residents and businesses. Made of ductile iron, the aging header pipe was original to the Brennan Water Treatment Plant on LPGA Blvd., which was built in the early 1970s. Although not leaking, the pipe was highly corroded. Other factors, which increased the project’s complexity were that the pipe couldn’t be taken out of service without interrupting water service to the entire community, and it was located in a 150-foot-long tunnel underneath a pump station, which offered crews limited access.
From design and permitting through contractor procurement and phased construction, the project took 12 months to complete. The article states, “This project provides a great example of how a proactive decision by a utility can help to improve the reliability of its aging infrastructure.” To read the article, visit Florida Water Resource Journal’s December 2020 issue.