• Project Data

The drought was so bad in the late 1950s that wells ran dry in the Harpeth Valley, an area of rolling hills and scenic farmland in Central Tennessee. Reduced to getting water where they could, desperate residents hauled it in 50-gallon drums. Knowing a modern water system was needed, a small contingent of community leaders asked nearby Nashville to make Harpeth Valley part of the larger city’s system. They were told the cost was prohibitive, however, so in 1959 the valley’s residents established their own utility district. Tennessee’s utility districts were chartered to provide water in rural areas lacking modern water systems. Harpeth Valley’s first water treatment plant was completed in 1962 on the banks of the Cumberland River. Soon afterward, a wastewater treatment plant was built near the Harpeth River. As has been the case with other utility districts near Tennessee’s larger cities, the Harpeth Valley Utilities District (HVUD) can no longer be thought of as a rural district. It now is the largest utility district in the state, with more than 11,000 water and 8,000 sewer service customers. HVUD serves residents in parts of Davidson, Williamson, and Cheatham counties as well as the cities of Brentwood, Franklin, and Fairview. It also provides water service to several surrounding utility districts. Harpeth Valley’s system includes more than 300 miles of water lines, more than 140 miles of sewer lines, and 24 wastewater lift stations. Despite system updates through the years, growth in the Nashville area has the HVUD on its heels. To cope with continually growing demand, the district is spending approximately $70 million on a series of expansion projects aimed at carrying the utility through 2010. AMERICAN is providing more than 2,150 tons of materials as the pipe supplier on five key contracts involved with the system’s upgrade. Well underway is an expansion of the system’s water treatment plant – the 10th upgrade project since 1962 – to increase capacity from 24 MGD to 36 MGD. Approximately 291 tons of AMERICAN pipe in 16- through 60-inch diameters is being installed as part of this expansion. Tom Jobe, senior project manager for contractor Adams Robinson Enterprises of Dayton, Ohio, said that AMERICAN definitely held up its end of the deal. "We had an extremely tight schedule, and AMERICAN came through on all counts," Jobe said. "(Customer Service Representative) Justin Northam was great in helping coordinate our releases with AMERICAN’s fabrication schedule and making sure the pipe we received would meet our laying schedule. Clearly, installing 60-, 54-, and 48-inch pipe in a 20-foot-deep trench that contained a 6-foot depth of rock – between two live lines – was, by any standard, quite a challenge." Across the Cumberland River from the water treatment plant, a state-of-the-art, 10 MGD wastewater treatment plant is under construction. That facility will greatly increase HVUD’s wastewater capacity, currently at 1.3 MGD. The project, due for completion in April 2001, will require some 602 tons of AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe and fittings. The installation of several thousand feet of smaller-diameter AMERICAN pipe was part of this contract. Also required were more than 3,600 feet of 30-inch and larger AMERICAN pipe, including 1,500 feet of 30-inch pipe used for a force main. Pipe linings included cement-mortar as well as Polybond. Because plans called for all of the plant process piping to utilize restrained joints, larger-diameter AMERICAN Flex-Ring® and Lok-Ring® were installed. "The use of restrained joints in the larger diameters put a high premium on preplanning and dimensioning of those pipe materials," said Mike Klein, project manager for 3D Enterprises Contracting Corporation of Lexington, Kentucky. “As we have come to expect, AMERICAN’s customer service personnel worked as an integral part of the project team to ensure that the bills of materials were correct as they were released, filled, and expedited to meet the demands of the project." Next to the water treatment plant, work is progressing on a new pump station from which sewage will be pumped under the river to the new wastewater treatment plant. AMERICAN Polybond and PolybondPlus® flange pipe and fittings in 6- through 30-inch diameters were used for the interior of the pump station. The job also featured cement-lined, Polybond, and PolybondPlus® Flex-Ring® and Fastite® pipe in 6- through 48-inch diameters. A fourth contract covers a river crossing with 1,350 feet of AMERICAN PolybondPlus® -lined Flex-Lok® (ball & socket pipe) for dual 30-inch, 675-foot lines across the Cumberland River. These lines will convey raw sewage to the new wastewater treatment plant. Mark Henrikson, project manager for contractor Durocher Dock & Dredge of Cheyboygan, Michigan, said the location of the river crossing "was not an easy place to lay pipe" because of the existing river bed conditions and currents. Also, workers had to deal with steep slopes leading into and out of the river. But the flexibility of AMERICAN Flex-Lok® was a major plus, and the pipe proved relatively easy to work with. "A tremendous benefit of the Flex-Lok® pipe is that, with its degree of flexibility, I can see it going anywhere you want it to go," Henrikson said. "Especially where slopes aren’t consistent, this pipe will accommodate just about any slope." Durocher Dock & Dredge initially put nine joints together on land, floated them into the river and sank them. Of 22 remaining joints, 11 were put together on land and 11 were done underwater. "Once we got the hang of it, it was actually a pretty smooth process," Henrikson said. "At first I thought it was a waste of money to use PolybondPlus® Flex-Lok® – it is a premium material. But I came to see that HVUD wanted to be sure the job was done right the first time. You won’t have any settlement problems with this pipe, and it makes real sturdy connections. The lining ensures the best protection for the interior. We certainly didn’t have any problems with it." The river crossing contract also included about 260 feet of 48-inch Lok-Ring® pipe with 10 20-inch welded-on Fastite® outlets to handle the treated effluent from the wastewater treatment plant. Eight of 16 joint connections were made underwater. “The dimensions of Lok-Ring® were very exact,” Henrikson said. “It was very consistent – just a gem of a pipe to work with. "We had one diver in 40 feet of water with no visibility, making joints on 48- inch pipe. You can imagine how difficult that might be. But the Lok-Ring® went together really well. Making the joints underwater was no problem." In all, the river crossing and outfall jobs consisted of about 245 tons of AMERICAN products. Adds Steve Ford, president of subcontractor Bolden Pipe Construction Company of Nashville: "During the past 20 years, I have truly learned to appreciate the quality of pipe materials and service provided by American Cast Iron Pipe Company. It takes some of the worry away when installing pipe in tough conditions." W.L. Hailey of Nashville, Tennessee, was the contractor for a fifth project that included the installation of two parallel 30-inch force mains running from the pump station to the river crossing plus parallel 30-inch force mains from the river crossing to the wastewater treatment plant. Also included was a 48-inch treated effluent line between the wastewater treatment plant and the submerged 48-inch line in the river. In all, this contract required 885 tons of AMERICAN pipe and fittings.

The river crossing project included AMERICAN 30-inch Flex-Lok®, PolybondPlus® -lined pipe. Said Mark Henrikson of contractor Durocher Dock & Dredge: “You won’t have any settlement problems with this pipe, and it makes real sturdy connections. The lining ensures the best protection for the interior.” PHOTO BY JIM WILLIAMSON AMERICAN supplied some 602 tons of pipe for the Harpeth Valley Utilities District’s new wastewater treatment plant, including the piping shown here. PHOTO COURTESY OF 3D ENTERPRISES CONTRACTING CORPORATION The flexibility of AMERICAN Flex-Lok® pipe is easily seen in this shot at the river crossing site on the Cumberland River. The pipe performed especially well on the steep slopes leading into and out of the river. PHOTO BY JIM WATTERSON

Project Data

To Top of Page