The Challenge: Sioux City, Iowa’s, Western Hills pressure zone was served by a small, below-ground booster station and an aging water storage tank. City residents within the Western Hills pressure zone often experienced low water pressure and were vocal with local leaders about their desire for higher water pressure. To mitigate citizen concerns and update outdated water infrastructure, the city decided to replace both the storage tank and the booster station and connect the Western Hills pressure zone to an existing pressure zone at Indian Hills. This replacement and new connection would better serve their jurisdiction’s water needs.
The Solution: Our Water Infrastructure team performed comprehensive water modeling focusing on alternative methods to achieve the city’s goals. After extensive effort and analysis of various routes, the design team identified a transmission main route and the necessary pipe size to connect the two pressure zones. With the route identified, we designed nearly 20,000 LF of 16” ductile iron pipe. Additionally, our Survey team performed a detailed topographic survey along the final route, and through their survey results, the final design was then fine-tuned to avoid utilities and reduce street and traffic impacts.
Project Benefits: The city was concerned with potential impacts to crucial streets and utilities that its citizens depend on. We developed our design process with a thorough traffic control plan and project phasing plan to keep those vital city-identified streets open, local businesses accessible, and utilities unimpacted through construction. What's more, with these system-wide updates, the city has comprehensively addressed residential water concerns for the long term.
