SURFACE WATER TRANSMISSION/WATERLINE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM, HOUSTON, TEXAS

The City of Houston’s Surface Water Transmission Program entailed a major capital improvement program to refocus the City’s main source of drinking water from groundwater to more sustainable surface water. The program included design and construction of large diameter, high-pressure waterlines, pumping stations, and related appurtenances, and consolidation of existing groundwater pumping stations in order to distribute the increased water supply from the East and Southeast water purification plants.

Since the start of the program in the mid-1980s, OTHON has managed five contracts involving the design of over 70,000 lf of large-diameter water transmission lines ranging from 24 to 84 inches along with related facility improvements. Engineering services included analysis of alternatives, pipe alignment design, traffic control planning, tunneling and thrust restraint design, design of cathodic protection, and production of construction documents and cost estimates. Projects involved a variety of challenges including design through active fault zones and a fast-track schedule.  OTHON also provided agency coordination including working with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on extended tunnel sections across TxDOT rights-of-way.

In addition to the Surface Water Treatment Program, OTHON has worked extensively on the City’s small-diameter waterline replacement program. Services included waterline horizontal and vertical design, utility conflict resolution, traffic control planning, cost estimating, and coordination with various governmental entities for approximately 150,000 lf of waterline replacement.

Completion Date: Various Dates (1985-2009)
Construction Cost: All contracts $20,000,000 (estimated)
Owner:  City of Houston