How to Successfully Plan and Design a Major Pipeline Replacement Project in a Congested Urban Setting

The East Bay Municipal Utility District (District) is a major metropolitan water district located near San Francisco, California. The District recently completed the planning and design for the Dingee Pipeline and Claremont Center Aqueducts Replacements Project, a $22 million project that includes replacing a 2.3-mile segment of an old transmission pipeline, which delivers water to over 18,000 customers, and 0.6 miles of aqueducts that serve treated water to over half of the District’s 1.3 million customers. This crucial project will replace aging pipelines that have a history of leaks and customer service disruptions. Sequencing and scheduling is a critical component of this project so that required outages of major pipelines are performed efficiently and within a short window of time, to minimize community impacts and reduce water service interruptions during construction. This paper highlights the myriad of planning and design challenges associated with implementing a major pipeline replacement project in a congested and populated urban setting.