A Proactive Program to Keep the Water Flowing  

Great Lakes Water Authority operates one of the largest municipal utility systems in the United States, serving nearly four million residents in eight Michigan counties.  

In 2021, GLWA launched a proactive pipeline assessment and renewal program to assess water transmission mains and wastewater interceptors and renew deteriorated pipelines. The three pillars of the Linear System Integrity Program are to reduce the impacts of failures, improve service levels and increase the reliability of GLWA’s linear assets.  

HDR is providing professional services to GLWA for the condition assessment and management of approximately 800 miles of large-diameter pipeline within the water transmission system and approximately 150 miles of pipelines within the wastewater collection system, that comprise its full inventory of linear assets.

Program Management for a Complex System

During the course of the LSIP, we will be providing program management (management of specialty contractors, participation in existing GLWA agency meetings, development of KPIs and dashboards, etc.), development of the water program framework (implementation guidelines, business processes, risk model, etc.), planning of the water pipeline condition assessments, implementation of the water pipeline condition assessments, and wastewater program planning and implementation.  

We developed an extensive program framework with GLWA to guide the program through its life and provide actionable recommendations and management practices to ensure successful, continual service of their buried linear assets. GLWA will embed the logic around field investigation and coordination amongst the various departments to help accomplish planning for the utility with a focus on business processes and coordination with GLWA infrastructure.

The program provides guidance for upcoming short- and long-term capital planning through sophisticated tools. The results of LSIP will help GLWA understand the impacts on ratepayers and prioritize capital projects.

Prioritization and Response for a Vast System

A risk assessment for the transmission system has been completed and is being used to guide the level of investment recommended for the assessment and rehabilitation of each pipeline within the water system. Updates to this risk model are being made to create efficiency and minimize impacts on GLWA's system operations. 

Of the 800 miles of large-diameter transmission mains that we will help GLWA assess and renew, 400 miles of that is prestressed concrete cylinder pipe, or PCCP. This type of pipe, which often fails catastrophically, means that assessment and renewal of the PCCP takes high priority.

Additionally, with the average age of the mains in their system being approximately 70 years, and with some being more than 100 years old, GLWA intends to maximize the life of the pipelines in their system using a proactive management approach.   

Included in our services is the ability to respond to as‑needed and opportunistic inspections. We have supported GLWA with the evaluation and repair actions needed to respond to major transmission line failures: 14 Mile road 48-inch PCCP, 24 Mile road 36-inch PCCP and their 120-inch Huron Transmission Main.

The 120-inch PCCP break resulted in temporary localized flooding and boiled water notices for 23 communities. We supported GLWA on this emergency task by providing field investigations with engineering support as part of the LSIP contract.

Maximizing the Value of Critical Water Pipelines

“The LSIP is a critical program for GLWA, who strive to be industry leaders in asset resiliency and reliability,” said Susan Donnally, HDR's East region condition assessment lead. “They have embraced a strong program structure that allows them to effectively manage their vast and complex linear system, using a smart combination of tried-and-true techniques, as well as state-of-the-art technologies.”