Dual-Use Pipeline Interconnect to Eliminate WRF River Discharges

The project entailed design, permitting, and construction of 4.4 mi of 24-in. Reject Water/Reclaimed Water (RJW/RW) dual-use transmission main interconnect between two County Water Reclamation Facilities (WRFs) that allows the County to discontinue wastewater effluent discharges to the Caloosahatchee River. From the beginning, this transmission main project was fast-tracked to comply with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Alternative Water Supply (AWS) funding deadline. Preliminary design included route study evaluation of four alternative routes to select the preferred route through a private golf course and a power line easement, along a very congested six-lane County highway. The final design featured eight separate 30″ HDPE Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) segments crossing under major roadways and several waterways and included securing of multiple challenging easements and permitting approvals. The County and multiple engineers coordinated the fast-track design and construction of approximately 40% of this pipeline with another parallel County pipeline and split up the project into two separate and simultaneous pipeline construction projects to complete construction of this entire pipeline in less than 14 months to meet the SFWMD funding deadline.