Improvements Project
Garver designed the first-ever water model for Madison County, Alabama, including 1,100 miles of water lines, more than 10,000 pipes, and it supplies 28,000 customers. When the model revealed that the county would soon lose the rights to a well that supplies the northwest portion of the county, Garver developed an improvements plan to offset the shortfall.
"We were asked if we could use the new model to simulate various approaches to the loss of the supply," said Project Manager Kevin Mullins. "We worked closely with county personnel to develop multiple scenarios."
The direct solution would have been to install 12 miles of 24-inch water main across the county, costing around $7 million. The Garver Team needed to come up with an alternative to this before the rights to the well ran out.
"We were given very strict criteria," Mullins said. This included keeping pressure under 150 psi, keeping as close to the existing status quo as possible, minimizing pressure swings during the diurnal cycle, and keeping the supply to the northwest area to about 25 percent groundwater.
After demonstrating several scenarios, the result was the installation of three new booster pump stations.
"The solution saved the county millions," Mullins said. "We were pleased that the County was forward-thinking enough to want a fully developed model, and that vision helped them save both money and time spent in design."
Entire construction costs for the project were $1.4 million, far less than would have been needed for a new pipeline.
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