Innovative Pipeline Design Solves the Problem of Seismic Reliability on a Constrained Urban Site at San Francisco’s New State-of-the-Art Headworks

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) initiated the design and construction of a 250 MGD all-weather headworks to improve wastewater treatment reliability and infrastructure flexibility in San Francisco, California. A critical objective of the project was rerouting the system's 72-in. channel force main (CFM) to feed the new headworks using a three-story steel moment frame structure. Carollo Engineers, Inc. evaluated several alternatives and recommended a custom-built Victaulic dynamic movement joint (DMJ) to relieve stresses on the pipeline and its supporting structures. This innovative approach helped to accommodate differential movement between the pipe rack and rigid concrete structures without significant damage to piping or supporting structures.