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THE LAKE GASTON PIPELINE: 76 MILES OF CONTROVERSY

The Lake Gaston Water Supply Project is a 227 million liters per day (60 mgd), 122 km (76 mi), 1.52 m (60 in.) pipeline project designed to provide a new source of raw water to the citizens of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, Virginia. The project is owned and operated by the City with Chesapeake being one sixth partner. The project is relatively simple in concept, but became very complex in reality. It has been extremely controversial and lengthy (15 years), and has involved the City, the commonwealth of Virginia, the State of North Carolina, and numerous local, state and federal regulatory agencies. This project had many engineering, construction, environmental and legal issues that were somewhat unique. Environmental issues included fish habitat mitigation, wetlands mitigation and completion of a full Environmental Impact Statement. Some of the legal and regulatory issues included review for Coastal Zone Management Act compliance, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review, 9 separate lawsuits and appeals filed against the project and ultimate submission to the Supreme Court of the United States. Many of the engineering issues required unusual solutions. The project was designed and bid with three alternate pipe materials. Soil and right-of-way conditions varied significantly. The project included six overhead river/swamp crossings that were utilized to minimize environmental consequences as well as numerous large diameter tunneled road/railroad crossings. Construction issues were also somewhat unique, but solvable. Due to the delays caused by the legal issues the construction schedule was accelerated from 39 months to a 24-month schedule utilizing eight separate construction contracts. Other construction issues included: (1) changing pipe materials based on soil conditions to achieve construction economies without importing large amounts of fill, (2) streamlining construction methods for grouting, diapering and backfill operations, (3) unique requirements for coordination between construction contractors, and (4) factoring in pipe material suppliers production and delivery capabilities. In spite of all the obstacles, the construction work was completed ahead of schedule, and the project was placed in service in the fall of 1997.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 622-631

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00760426
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0784403724
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 8 1999 12:00AM