| In the early summer of 1999, St. Charles County, Missouri, a well-established community just 15 miles west of St. Louis, was running out of water fast. A rapid influx of high-tech companies over the previous three years had transformed the area from primarily rural – with pastureland and quaint farmhouses – into a burgeoning suburb trying to keep pace with the demands of an exploding population.
Today, such corporate powerhouses as MCI Worldcom maintain a large presence on the I-40 corridor in St. Charles County, while MasterCard is currently building its corporate headquarters near that same location. "About a year ago, the rapid population growth in our area spurred by the influx of business and industry increased the demand for water and outpaced our current supply levels," said Greg Johnson of Alliance Water Resources, the management company for Public Water Supply District #2 (PWSD #2) serving central and southwest St. Charles County. According to Johnson, the county's unprecedented growth has increased the number of residential water customers from only 1,000 just 25 years ago to more than 18,000 customers today. PWSD #2 now serves a residential population of 60,000 people. In its initial efforts to solve the problem of meeting an increasingly urgent demand for water, the board of directors of PWSD #2 considered a variety of options, including building a new water treatment facility. "This option was cost prohibitive. We really needed to find a better way," Johnson recalled of the process. The final solution, reached through consensus, was to purchase water from the nearby Howard Bend Water Treatment Plant in St. Louis, which has the capability of producing up to three times the amount of water needed to supply the city of St. Louis. With the water needed to bolster its supply readily available from the Howard Bend facility, PWSD #2 turned its attention to the more complex problem of how to get the water to its customers in St. Charles County. The project, which would involve running a water main from the source at Howard Bend, would have to proceed quickly; a dwindling water supply forced PWSD #2 to construct an additional well in June to meet residential supply in the district through the summer of 1999. To ensure a smooth and timely execution of running a water main from Howard Bend to St. Charles County, the board hired Sverdrup Civil, Inc. to provide engineering and construction phase services. The job was complex, requiring the successful execution of several elements — each one dependent on the other — that included: (1) procuring pipe for the water main; (2) tapping into the Howard Bend Plant pipeline; (3) installing the pipe from the plant to the Missouri River; (4) crossing the pipe beneath the river into St. Charles County; and (5) building a pump station. Initially, pipe procurement and installation of transmission main were bid as one contract. This proved too impractical and cost prohibitive. "We decided to break this into three contracts: pipe procurement, installation of pipe in St. Louis County and installation of pipe in St. Charles County. This proved to be more economical and also shortened the time period necessary to complete the project," Johnson explained. Determining the type of pipe to be used for such an ambitious endeavor proved to be one of the most strategically critical decisions the PWSD #2 water board confronted. "We knew going in that quick delivery of pipe and fast laying time were going to be key determinants of the project's success," Johnson said. After considering a range of other options, AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe was selected primarily for its proven performance and versatility. "We also knew AMERICAN could get their product to us quickly," Johnson recalled. "We compared ductile iron to other products we could have used, and a long-term cost-benefit analysis showed us that our initial investment in ductile iron would provide future paybacks through availability of replacement parts and lower maintenance and operations costs," explained Johnson. "We also knew that AMERICAN offered a larger diameter pipe that would better meet our pumping needs," he said. Once ductile iron pipe was selected as the material of choice, project managers reemphasized to PWSD #2 officials the importance of achieving a seamless and uninterrupted delivery of pipe in the field. With a short window of time in which to complete the job, finding ways to expedite the job was paramount. "Our major concern was being able to take delivery on a sufficient amount of pipe to allow us to begin installation," said Project Manager Tom Karsten of Karsten Equipment Company, contracted to tap the pipeline at Howard Bend and install 40,000 feet of 42-inch pipe from that location to the Missouri River. "We wanted to be assured of a continuous supply of pipe once we had mobilized," he said. In direct response to the water board's need to expedite the project, AMERICAN developed a detailed laying schedule that served as the basis for sequencing pipe deliveries. The color-coded schedule identified each type of pipe with a separate mark number. "The schedule was prepared quickly, was very easy to read, and served as an extremely useful tool in planning for deliveries of about 275 truckloads of materials along the eight-mile pipe route," Karsten said. "I could never expect material deliveries to go any smoother than they did for this job." With the initial deliveries completed quickly in accordance with the laying schedule, Karsten Equipment Company began the process of tapping into the water source at Howard Bend in June 1999. Two 30-inch connections were required – one to an existing 72-inch steel transmission main and the second to a 60-inch transmission main. Because the connections were deep, high ground water levels were of a foremost concern. Although the original design called for installation of 30-inch welded steel pipe from the point of connection to the metering station, Karsten received approval to substitute ductile iron pipe for the steel pipe. This phase of the project utilized 40,000 feet of 42-inch Fastite® and Lok-Ring® pipe and fittings, as well as 6- to 12-inch welded outlets and Fast-Grip® gaskets. "Using ductile iron for the yard piping allowed us to complete the installation more quickly and eliminated the need for welding in a deep, wet excavation," said Karsten. In another major phase of the project, Essex Contracting – responsible for laying pipe from the pump station to the PWSD #2 distribution system – also had an excellent installation experience using ductile iron. Essex installed 18,000 feet of 36-inch Fastite® and Flex-Ring® pipe and fittings, in addition to 9,000 feet of 30-inch pipe and 2,000 feet of 24-inch pipe. Six- to 12-inch welded outlets and Fast-Grip® gaskets were also used. "The installation was fairly easy," said Essex Project Manager Joe Yager. He said nine different road crossings made the project more challenging. "In one area, we had to install the pipe 15 feet deep, much deeper than we had anticipated," he said. "But everything was straightforward, and we encountered very few problems with the material." The entire project was successfully completed in December 1999, providing an ample water supply to St. Charles County and long-awaited relief to PWSD #2 — no longer feeling the strain of keeping pace with a growing population's demand for water. In retrospect, the project managers attribute the success Sverdrup Project Manager Tom Meinhart explained the overall performance of ductile iron pipe surpassed his expectations saying, "Ductile iron pipe has definitely stood the test of time." According to Meinhart, AMERICAN's customer service representative directly contributed to the project's success by responding quickly and effectively when any problem arose. "Our customer service representative was very knowledgeable and helpful. We even had to hold shipment a couple of times because of poor conditions at the project site, and AMERICAN worked with us on that," he recalled. Summing up his experience working on the St. Charles County water project, Karsten reiterated AMERICAN's total quality commitment. "This is the first experience our company has had with AMERICAN. We're impressed with the superb quality of their product and the integrated effort they put forth to ensure our success in St. Charles County." |
 It took 275 trucks to deliver eight miles of AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe on one contract.
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| Owner: | Public Water Supply District #2 of St. Charles County (Managed by Alliance Water Resources) |
| Engineer: | Sverdrup Civil, Inc., Maryland Heights, Missouri |
| Contract A | Installation of Pipe from Howard Bend Water Treatment Plant to Missouri River |
| Contractor: | Karsten Equipment Co., St. Ann, Missouri |
| Materials: | 40,000 feet of 42" CL150-CL350 Fastite® and Lok-Ring® pipe and fittings. 6"-12" welded outlets and Fast-Grip® gaskets |
| Contract B | Installation of Pipe from Missouri River to PWSD #2 Pump Station |
| Contractor: | Essex Contracting, Herculaneum, Missouri |
| Materials: | 18,000 feet of 36", 9,000 feet of 30", 2,000 feet of 24" CL250-CL350 Fastite® and Flex-Ring® pipe and fittings. 6"-12" welded outlets and Fast-Grip® gaskets |
| Sales Engineer: | Andy Sneed |
| Customer Service Representative: |
Daphne Yelling |
© 2000 American Cast Iron Pipe Co.
