Marshall R. Bowen Pumping Plant Project (Pumping Plant No. 2 Replacement)
Award
Description
“PUMPING PLANT NO. 2 REPLACEMENT PROJECT
On the surface, this Project may appear to be very straightforward.
The goal: Replace the City’s existing Pumping Plant No. 2, which was originally constructed in the 1930’s, with a new state-of-the-art pumping station that will serve the City of Whittier long into the 21st century.
The new facility includes:
1) A new 6,400 square foot pump building, housing a pump room and an operations room. In the pump room are one 250 HP, and four 400 HP vertical turbine pumps, with a total capacity of 17,500 gpm. The facility has space to add one more 400 HP pump for potential future capacity of 21,300 gpm.
2) Two 2.2 million gallon (MG) welded steel storage reservoirs to serve as forebays and provide emergency storage.
3) Off-site Improvements to improve flow control at Greanleaf Reservoir sites and convert SCADA communication at all facilities from telephone to hybrid radio/microwave communication system.
4) A SCADA control center in the pump station’s operations room enabling the City to monitor water supply wells, distribution storage reservoirs and pump stations throughout the city.
However, the project was much more complex. First, this is the most critical facility of the City’s water infrastructure, and it is not located within the City’s service area. In fact, it is located on the west side of the San Gabriel River, in the City of Pico Rivera. The pumping station is supplied by gravity flow from nine City wells located up to 1.5 miles away, near the Whittier Narrows on the San Gabriel River. From the pumping station, water is conveyed under the San Gabriel River for 0.25 miles before it reaches the first of the City’s 48,000 customers. Since it is the source of 100% of the City’s supply to its customers, it was paramount to keep the existing facility in full operation throughout the construction of the replacement facility.
The following section describes some of the many challenges associated with the project. Michael Baker International led the design team and provided the City of Whittier with professional engineering and surveying services for the project, including hydraulic studies, preliminary design, environmental (CEQA) documentation, final design, and full-time construction management and inspection services.”
Branch