Loudoun Water Potomac Water Supply Program

Designing a Pipeline for one of the Fastest Growing Communities in the Nation

Loudoun County, Virginia

We developed detailed hydraulic and computer-aided 3D models of the entire raw water delivery system due to the potential for “water hammer.”

We designed a robust pipeline restraint system and pipeline trench that will absorb and help control and prevent pipeline movement, as well as guard against shock waves produced by nearby active quarry operations.

The pipeline will deliver up to 40 million gallons per day of raw, untreated water from the Potomac River to Loudoun Water’s new water treatment plant.

We established a corrosion protection system to reduce potential rusting of the pipeline and other negative impacts to nearby gas and power transmission utilities.

We designed the pipeline in close coordination with several utilities to safely work within or cross rights-of-way of each.

The Potomac Water Supply Program was created to meet the demands of Loudoun's rapidly growing population. The program includes plans for an intake and pumping station along the Potomac River, transmission pipes, water banking quarries, and a water treatment plant. We designed nearly 27,300 feet of 48-, 42-, and 36-inch water transmission pipeline, to deliver up to 40 million gallons per day of raw, untreated water from the Potomac River to Loudoun Water's new water treatment plant. The pipeline will connect the Potomac River intake and pumping station with the water treatment plant and a quarry that will be used for off-line storage of raw water.

27,300

feet of 48-, 42-, and 36-inch water transmission pipeline

40

million gallons delivered per day via pipeline

This project involved an entirely new pipeline alignment, requiring new easements that allow access for operations and maintenance. We needed to better understand the geotechnical conditions because of the high potential for "water hammer," and to determine the soil and rock removal conditions. Almost 40 borings, 35 test pits, and both longitudinal and cross-sectional seismic refraction were completed to locate and quantify the limits and amounts of blasting and rock removal needed.

Owner

Loudoun Water

Cost

$23.5 million

Services

Engineering

Markets

Water

Regions

Mid-Atlantic