Case Study of HDPE Pipe for Water Pump Station

In October of 2018, the City of Victoria finalized plans to construct a new force-main to transport waste water from Clover Point pump station to the Mcloughlin Point Wastewater Treatment plant. Rob Rutherford of Kerr Wood Leidal Engineering was consulted on the design of the 2-mile project which will start at Ogden Point along Dallas Road and runs underneath the harbor to reconnect to the existing line.

This force-main utilized AWWA C906 specifications for the PE4710 Pressure Class 100, (PE445574C) 48” IPS DR 21 to transfer wastewater. After weighing each pipeline option type, the design team selected HDPE as the best product for the application. With all the on-land construction being open cut and the harbor installation being directionally drilled. Fusions were conducted both above ground in sections built for the daily trench excavation lengths.  In trench fusions connected the previously installed section to the new lengths for that day. This was necessary due to the numerous existing crossings that existed in the neighborhoods.

The benefits of HDPE were the flexibility of the product during installation and the ability to fuse the pipe without special holders or couplings. This saved both money and time. The project was completed in 11 months, almost 5 months ahead of schedule. Windley Contractors took into consideration any possible environmental concerns and was able to protect mature trees and sensitive vegetation areas throughout the construction, also traffic disruption was minimal in a highly populated area. Also, representatives from the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations provided guidance to ensure the design maintained cultural and archaeological protocols. Finally, noise levels remained within the established bylaws of the City of Victoria.