Underground Construction - October 2021 - 20

Texas Water System Tackles Fractured Pipeline
15 and NSF 61 for service, distribution and transmission, and is
designed and installed per AWWA M55-20, " stated Camille George
Rubeiz, P.E., F. ASCE, co-chair, Municipal Advisory Board and senior
director of engineering, Municipal and Industrial Division of PPI.
" HDPE pipe has been used in municipal water applications for
more than 50 years. HDPE's heat-fused joints create a leak-free,
self-restraint, monolithic piping system that can be pulled from
one area to another with minimum disruption to traffi c or the surrounding
communities. Th e fused joint also eliminates infi ltration
into the pipe and exfi ltration into the environment.
" HDPE has other benefi ts which include resistance to water
hammer, fatigue, ground movements, freezing temperatures,
earthquakes, corrosion and tuberculation. "
Versatile
Rubeiz also said that HDPE pipe is versatile and can be used in
methods of underground installation. " Eagle Pass is an example
of HDPE providing for the needs of the contractor, who had to
make decisions in the fi eld. It didn't matter that a change at the
last minute had to be made from trenchless to open cut, the HDPE
pipe could be used immediately for either. "
SERVING THE ENERGY
INDUSTRY SINCE 1966
As a nationwide leader in energy transmission services,
our dedicated team offer full-service capabilities and
operational excellence in everything we do. Licensed to
work in 34 states, we are ready to partner with you and
deliver innovative solutions for your projects.
Because trenchless methods of installing HDPE pipe have grown
in popularity, the Municipal Advisory Board (MAB) has published
several free technical documents, such as Th e MAB Guidelines for
PE4710 Pipe Bursting of Potable Water Mains (MAB-5-2019) and
MAB Guidelines for Use of Mini-Horizontal Directional Drilling for
Placement of HDPE (PE4710) Pipe in Municipal Applications (MAB7-2020).
All documents and software are available at: plasticpipe.
org/municipal_pipe/mid-mab-publications.html.
" Th is water system project was critical for the citizens of Eagle
Pass, " stated David Fink, president of PPI. " Th e water system was
not adequate for the needs of the existing population and would
not be able to accommodate any future growth. Plus, the amount
of water leaking through the old pipes cost the Eagle Pass Water
Works System and its customers untold amounts of money; and,
more troubling, was the amount of wasted water in a region that
treasures every precious drop. "
Th e 50-foot-long sections of HDPE pipe from JM Eagle were
fused together by the Murphy crew using a McElroy Trackstar 500,
and the Scandinavian No-Dig T87 with a pulling capacity of 92
metric tons was used for the pipe bursting segments. Th e HDPE
pipe has a pressure rating of 200 psig at 80 degrees F and can
handle total pressure during recurring surge of 300 psig and total
pressure during an occasional surge of 400 psig.
Th e pre-chlorinated pipe bursting used more than 20,000 feet of
8-, 10- and 12-inch diameter HDPE PE4710 pipe.
" Th e original idea was to use pipe bursting for the entire
project, " explained Murphy Pipeline's Gafenauer. " But one of the
challenges we ran across was that some of the lines were extremely
shallow. It was more of a design build project onsite. We would
dig down, fi nd out what we had and then make the decision in the
fi eld. But because our crews have experience with all the ways to
install the pipe, it wasn't a problem to change on-the-fl y.
" Taking on a project of this size, using pre-chlorinated pipe
bursting, produced a signifi cant savings in terms of impact to the
community during construction and helped to reduce the project's
schedule, " he added. " Th is is one of the largest, HDPE water main
projects done at one time in North America that I'm aware of and
our team is proud to be a part of it. " *
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
MNLIMITED.COM
20 OCTOBER 2021 | UCONonline.com
Murphy Pipeline Contractors Inc., (904) 620-9702, murphypipelines.com
McElroy Manufacturing, (918) 836-8611, mcelroy.com
Plastics Pipe Institute, (469) 499-1044, plasticpipe.org
JM Eagle, (800) 621-4404, jmeagle.com
Scandinavian No-Dig, +45 98 34 16 88, no-dig.dk
http://www.murphypipelines.com http://www.mcelroy.com http://www.plasticpipe.org http://www.MNLIMITED.COM http://www.jmeagle.com http://www.no-dig.dk http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - October 2021
