Urban Utility Replacements: Art or Science or Both?

The City of Euless, located in Tarrant County, Texas, is a suburb of Fort Worth and Dallas. Like most cities in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, Euless has experienced significant growth with recent decades. The population in the city increased from 51,000 in 2010 to 61,000 in 2020. The City has a program to replace a portion of its aging water and sewer infrastructure each year through Community Development Block Grant program; however, in 2023, the City used funds allocated through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to rehabilitate a larger section of aging infrastructure in several sections of the City. The City of Euless used these ARPA funds to replace approximately 12,700 linear feet of existing 6-in. and 8-in. diameter asbestos cement (AC), cast iron (CI), and galvanized (GI) waterlines and 17,000 linear feet of existing 6-in. and 10-in. vitrified clay pipe (VCP) wastewater pipeline with 6-in., 8-in., and 10-in. High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe through pneumatic and static pipe bursting methods. Along with aging infrastructure, population growth within the City of Euless, along with densification, has caused capacity strain of the existing assets. Upsizing these pipelines to meet new water and wastewater demands was necessary to facilitate economic growth and public safety. Wastewater pipelines in the northern area of the project site were installed in the late 1960s, and the as-built drawings provided limited information because of the age of the system. Engineering design relied on information from as-builts, City GIS, and survey data obtained from manhole inverts that could be opened in the field. Wastewater pipeline slopes were determined mathematically, assuming a straight run between the two manhole inverts. Other public utilities were identified through other means due to lack of information. This required coordination with local utility service providers, City GIS data, available as-built drawings, and additional Level A Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) exploration at street intersections, where gas lines were marked by DigTess (Texas's local 811 service). The decision to pipe burst the waterlines for the City of Euless was mostly economic. Where AC waterlines were encountered, pipe bursting minimized remediation costs since the abandoned lines can be left in place after the new HDPE line is installed. Pavement repairs are minimized to a small hole or a launching or pipe pit used to insert the pipe into the ground once it is attached to the bursting tool, fittings, valve locations, and service lines rather than the large trenches needed for open cut installation. Once the pits are excavated, construction of the new pipeline can move quickly if no issues are encountered. This was a benefit on Main Street, one of the main thoroughfares in the City of Euless, and a significant portion of the water replacement project. Pipe bursting significantly reduced traffic disruption and maintained access to businesses, residences, schools, and the fire station.