As a result of the burgeoning energy industry, which increased the Wyoming’s population by 50 percent during a 10-year period, the state of Wyoming embarked on the largest state-funded municipal project to provide a regional water source. Burns & McDonnell was hired to provide planning, program and project management, design, and construction phase services (including full-time construction observation) for this large-scale project.
The project includes a new Madison Formation Well Field, 52 miles of 36- and 42-inch diameter pipeline, a 23.5-million-gallon-per-day (MGD) pump station, a 1-MG storage tank, an on-site sodium hypochlorite disinfection generation facility, three miles of 18-inch waterline, and a water blending facility.
Our team also provided hydraulic modeling and surge analysis of the entire water system to accurately determine future demands, storage requirements, waterline sizes, pressures, flows and overall water quality. Complete hydraulic modeling, including surge analysis, was performed for the entire water system (including new and existing transmission pipelines). The modeling was set up to determine future demands, storage requirements of the new tank, proposed transmission and future distribution pipe size, system pressures and flows, and water quality.
Our team provided extensive outside private/state agency coordination because of several road/rail/water crossings that required permitting/crossing agreements. More specifically, the 52 miles of pipeline had three interstate highway crossings (I-90), two railroad crossings, dozens of creek/waterway crossings, and frequent state/county road crossings. These crossings required coordination with Wyoming Department of Transportation, Campbell County, Crook County, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the Bureau of Land Management, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to obtain permitting and crossing agreements. Our team developed easement exhibits and legal descriptions, which involved more than 100 property owners both temporary and permanent easements. Because of the state funding, the water transmission pipeline is being constructed in phases. As of late 2015, two phases were constructed and operational, and four additional phases have been awarded for construction.
