ASCE-SJ: Jan 2024 Luncheon- Almaden Valley Pipeline Replacement Project

Public agencies across the United States are facing major challenges managing our aging infrastructure that we all rely on. Valley Water is one such agency that looks for innovative and out of the box solutions to prolong the life of our aging infrastructure, particularly our pipelines. For the first time, Valley Water is designing a large-scale replacement project for one of its large diameter water transmission pipelines. The replacement method Valley Water has chosen is installing “a pipe within a pipe” with a process called relining. During this presentation the speaker, Antonio Gallegos, will provide an overview of operating a public water utility system, discuss aging water pipelines in Santa Clara County, describe the design and construction of relining a large-diameter water pipeline, and highlight the potential challenges of this construction method.

The project is called the Almaden Valley Pipeline Replacement Project. The project’s purpose is to “replace” 19,000 linear feet of large diameter pipeline, as well as upgrade various elements of the pipeline to improve its longevity while avoiding major disruption to the public. The project’s engineers will need to consider hydraulic design, geotechnical design, pipeline and vault design, and practical constructability to ensure success. The project is estimated to cost over $80 million dollars once completed.