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"Boat Harbor Underwater Transmission Pipe Installation"
Boat Harbor Treatment Plant Transmission Force Main Section 1 (Subaqueous)
HRSD Capital Improvement Program Project (BH015710) -
As part of the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) program, HRSD will pump wastewater from Newport News to its Nansemond Treatment Plant in Suffolk. At the Nansemond location, wastewater will be highly treated prior to discharge to the James River. A significant portion of the treated water will undergo additional advanced treatment to produce SWIFT WaterTM which will meet drinking water quality standards. This will further reduce nutrients discharged to the James River Basin and support local water quality and Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. To connect HRSD’s Boat Harbor and Nansemond facilities, construction of a 24,000 foot, 48-inch diameter pipe below the bottom of the James River is required.
Project Cost: Approximately $136 million
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Notices
Public Notice of Agency Review Period - January 2023
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April 9, 2024
The contractor completed the pilot hole and additional activities for the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) to install the pipeline under the Newport News shipping channel in the James River. One of the HDD drill rigs is working from the north shore of the James River and the other is on a platform in the James River, just south of the Newport News shipping channel.
The contractor started fusing together 53-foot segments of the 42-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline on a specially constructed barge on the James River in preparation for the pipe pull-back operation.
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This is not known at this time.
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- Staging:
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TBD
- Construction:
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Spring 2023 - Fall 2025
- Restoration:
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Immediately following construction.
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This project is a necessary part of Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT), which is an innovative program taking highly treated wastewater effluent that would otherwise be discharged to surface waters and providing additional rounds of advanced water treatment to produce SWIFT WaterTM which will meet drinking water quality standards. The physical limitations at the Boat Harbor Treatment Plant site prevent the ability to provide advanced water treatment at that location, so it is necessary to provide the advanced water treatment at the Nansemond Treatment Plant location. In addition, a financial analysis indicates there is significant long-term cost saving associated with consolidating wastewater treatment and SWIFT facilities at the Nansemond Treatment Plant.
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This first part of the project consists of collecting soil samples from the bottom of the James River using a drill rig on a barge. The work is being coordinated with the Coast Guard and other groups that use the river, and this will have minimal impact to boat traffic. Safety measures and communication plans will be placed to ensure that the work is performed safely.
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The pipe will be buried in the sediment at the bottom of the river using two methods: horizontal directional drilling or trenching. Horizontal directional drilling uses a large drill to put the pipe in place without digging a trench. Trenching uses equipment on top of the water to dig a trench, set the pipe, and then fill the trench back in again.
Generally, horizontal directional drilling is used in very deep sections of the river where there is a lot of room to set up the equipment, and trenching is used in shallower, more congested areas. But there are other considerations, such as the required slope of the pipe, other utilities, and permit requirements, that must be considered. An evaluation is currently being performed to determine which method will be used in each area.
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Horizontal directional drilling will have almost no impact on the environment or aquatic habitats. Almost all of the activity associated with horizontal directional drilling takes place deep in the sediments below the bottom of the river. There will be temporary work platforms set up in the river at the beginning and end of the drilled length. These platforms will be removed when the pipe is installed. Material removed by the drill will be collected and hauled off possibly for disposal or possibly for reuse.
Trenching involves excavating sediments at the bottom of the river and them putting the sediments back over the pipe. Efforts will be made to prevent the sediment spreading around the river. The impacts of the sediment removal and replacement from the trenching operation will not be much different from sediment movements that happen from current and wave action in the river.
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The estimated cost for the project is $136 million and is financed by the wastewater treatment fees paid by HRSD customers.
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Regular project updates are posted on the HRSD website at www.hrsd.com/construction-status. You may also sign up at www.hrsd.com/subscriptions to receive an email notification whenever the website has an update about the project.
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- Public Information Specialist:
- Shawn Maxfield 757.833.7483 (Office)
- HRSD Project Manager:
- David Steele
- Additional Information:
- Projects@hrsd.com
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- Director of Communications:
- Leila Rice, APR 757.460.7056 (Office) 757.642.1321 (Cell)
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- Engineeting Consultant Firm:
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AECOM, Norfolk, VA
- Engineering Consultant Project Lead:
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David Steele