When most Arizonans flush the toilet or turn on the tap, they rarely give it much thought, taking for granted the infrastructure that transports water where it needs to be. Fortunately, there is an entire industry of professionals that spend their careers thinking about that critical, yet unseen infrastructure – the pipelines that move water.
And, these pipeline experts have a national organization, the Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute (UESI), which was established in 2015 for individuals working within the utility, pipeline and surveying industry. The organization hosts an annual conference, providing a forum for pipeline professionals from around the world to share their experiences in meeting the challenges of today’s pipeline infrastructure.
CAP has many professionals who meet those challenges every day. Recently, four submitted papers based upon their work in the large diameter pipelines that are an integral part of our system. After peer review, they were selected to present during technical sessions at the UESI pipelines conference in Calgary.
Senior Project Manager Tamara Miller and Senior Mechanical Engineer Jason Foster presented “Lessons Learned – Relining Large Diameter Water Pipelines.”
Miller said they presented on the dynamics of managing relining projects at CAP discussing how these specialty projects pose significant challenges for project management teams during initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing phases.
“We were able to share the lessons we’ve learned, provide examples from several reline projects and gave insight to implementing organizational best practices and innovative approaches,” said Miller.
Senior Reliability Engineer Jim Geisbush presented “Utilities in Multiple Use and Shared Structures” and then teamed up with Senior Industrial Hygienist Christina Collins to present “Developing and Executing Large Diameter Water Pipeline Physical Entry Inspection Protocols.”
Collins said for the past eight years, she and Geisbush have worked together on numerous inspections of siphons, pipelines and discharge lines. Those experiences have resulted in unique perspectives and many lessons learned that could be shared with the group.
“We have some of the largest diameter pipes in the world, many of ours are 21 feet and for other organizations six feet is considered large,” said Collins. “One of the lessons we shared involved the smaller diameter pipes near the end of our system where the water moves at a slower velocity. In these smaller pipes we find aquatic muscles and vegetation growing on the surface, and when we dewater the pipes this growth decomposes releasing ammonia into the air, which can be deadly. Using specialized monitoring equipment for ammonia allows us to ensure levels are safe prior to entry into the pipes.”
Collins said they shared CAP’s teamwork approach to siphon inspections and the critical contributions of a robust communication team that ensures everyone’s safety. Preparation for pipeline work takes months of coordinated planning and includes engineers, safety professionals, electronic communications specialists and more!
“Inspections rely on a diverse team, not solely on an engineer,” said Collins. “When we inspected Reach 6, we had 28 people in the pre-job briefing, and it took all those people to facilitate the multi-day inspection. We spend months ahead of time planning to make sure we get in and out safely.”
CAP’s professionals not only use their expertise to serve Arizona, but the entire water community.
KRA: Workforce
Being a premier employer that attracts and retains an exceptional and diverse workforce
