Construction Update: April 2026

In April, site activity benefited from warmer weather and focused on three major areas of work: continued installation of the raw water mains, installation of storm drainage infrastructure, and rock removal to support additional pipeline construction.

The photo above shows the arrival of the next shipment of 60-inch and 72-inch steel raw water pipe in the background, representing approximately 150 additional feet of the pipeline. One section is being unloaded for placement into the trench in the foreground. Each pipe section travels three days from the manufacturer, Mid-America Pipe Fabricating in Kansas. Because this project is financed in part with federal loans, certain materials must be made in the USA.

Crews continue welding new pipe sections to those already installed within the excavation and preparing the pipeline for backfilling.

The steel flange shown in the image above is 1.5 inches thick, and the pipe’s concrete lining is visible. The two wires on the ground in the image are part of the cathodic protection system, which helps prevent corrosion. Cathodic protection is a proven electrochemical method used to prevent corrosion of metal surfaces over time. It works by redirecting corrosion currents away from the protected structure, ensuring long-term durability and safety.

In the image above the contractor prepares for a pressure test of the joints on that section of pipe. The plate visible behind the blue flange is a 2-inch-thick solid steel cover, or blind flange, used to seal the opening. The worker is using a giant wrench to tighten the bolts in a star pattern, just like you would do with your car tire, followed by final tightening with a hydropneumatic wrench (which combines hydraulic and gaseous forces to apply pressure) to achieve the required torque. Once the blind flange is secured, crews filled the pipe with water and pressurized it for testing.

In this above image, truckloads of flow fill are being placed to stabilize the installation. From material delivery through backfilling, this portion of the work typically represents several weeks of coordinated effort.

To clear the path for the new 60” raw water transmission main, rock removal is the second major operation currently underway on site. Crews first used a rock-ripping tooth to extract as much granite as possible before transitioning to a hoe ram for more intensive breaking. The excavated material is being evaluated for hardness to determine whether it can be reused on other projects.

The third major area of work is installation of the new plant’s stormwater infrastructure on the south side of the existing slow sand filters. In the images above, the excavator is using a sling to lower reinforced concrete pipe sections into place. Workers are aligning the bell-and-spigot connection to ensure proper placement.

In May demolition will begin on slow sand filters 7 through 10, which were originally constructed in 1925. Following the discovery of more PCBs than anticipated in construction materials in slow sand filters 15-18 (dating from 1966), sampling confirmed the soil surrounding the 1925 filters was not affected. With regulatory approval in place to proceed with demolition of the 1925 filters, the project team is preparing for substantial progress over the summer.