Portable Pipeline Systems
Date: February 15, 1998
To: Whom It May Concern From: David W. Jackson
Re: Cal-Amer Water Co.-Chula Vista -Monterey Division
This “Portable Pipeline Really Saved Us”
Those were the comments of Gary Weigand, Supt. of Water Distribution for the Cal-Amer Water Co. in Monterey, CA. Due to heavy rains from an “El Nino”, on February 2°d a road, a 16″ Sewer line and a 30″ water transmission line were washed out. This particular water transmission line carried drinking water to homes and businesses in a very hilly section of Monterey, CA. The 30″ main was shut down to try and retain water in two above the ground 5 million-gallon storage tanks. The loss of this reserve would havejeopardized the supply of drinking water to a large section of town.
Gary made the following comments to me on the 13th of February while we looked over a canyon (photo attached) that was approximately 60 – 70 feet deep and more than 180 feet wide. We had a couple of options available to us”, Gary said. “We had steel pipe in our yard but the time, the rough terrain of the area and the unstable ground due to constant rain did not make the installation of steel pipe a viable option, especially since it was only going to be used as a “temporary” line. I was looking for something quick, reliable, not requiring a lot of manpower or heavy equipment to move and install yet large enough to handle our water needs. That’s when I remembered that East Bay MUD in Oakland recently purchased some large diameter portable pipeline for their earthquake preparedness program for crossing the Hayward fault. I thought that this large diameter portable pipeline could be the answer to my problem! I figured we could deploy this across the canyon more quickly, with less manpower and equipment than any other product available on the market. Then, we could be back “on Line” with this temporary water main while we worked around the clock to get the road and this 30″ transmission line repaired.
As a member of (WARN II Water Area Resource Network) I called EBMUD and made contact with the “Emergency Response Group”. Those guys knew exactly what they had in inventory and what we would need! Arrangements were made with CHP’s and they brought 210 feet of 12″ and some 8″ portable pipeline to Monterey that evening. On the 4th we began tapping into an abandoned 16″ water main and installed a temporary butterfly valve using flange adapters. About 9 PM in the dark, in a rain storm with only six men it took us about one hour to lay that portable pipeline down the steep bank, across the stream and back up the other bank. We then connected the portable pipeline to the butterfly valve using the Viet/Flange adapter. We supported the lower portion of portable pipeline that crossed the stream with a steel I-beam. For external protection we decided to cover it with a 24″ corrugated plastic culvert pipe. We felt that since we were borrowing this system we wanted to protect it from any potential damage. We were really concerned that some debris, like a washed out tree might crash into it, especially if we had any additional rain. We did not want this temporary line to get punctured since it was working so well and we were just borrowing it! We charged the line with approximately 135 psi. of pressure. After two days with a service man watching the hose around the clock we concluded this Portable Pipeline was doing what it was designed to do. It really saved us time and money!
The reserve water supply in those two 5 million gallon tanks continued to be used until the repairs were completed. We used the 12″ System for a total of 10 days with no problems.
This “Portable Pipeline System” Really Saved Us!
Portable Pipeline System
Field : 3844 Mistral Dr. Huntington Beach, CA. 92649 Tel:714-840-3740 Fax:714-840-1434 Pg:B00-504-2514 E-Mail: Uoft70@aJt.net