We assisted the City of Piqua, Ohio, with engineering design, survey, funding, and construction and bid-plan services for the installation of approximately 5,250 linear feet of 12-inch water main. Because of a lack of effective storage capacity, the City’s central low-pressure zone was determined to be the highest priority hazard to drinking water.  We provided preliminary hydraulic modeling to identify viable options to increase system pressure and improve system connectivity, and we ultimately recommended the separate design of a new elevated storage tank.

The City’s main objectives were to connect the new, 1-million-gallon elevated storage tank to the City’s distribution system and increase hydraulic performance by looping the distribution systems at the end of Fox Drive with the system at the intersection of Hemm and Drake Road.

The success of the project required close coordination with several key stakeholders, including Miami County, Vectren Gas Company, and adjacent property owners. Approximately 1,700 linear feet of new water main was installed within the public right-of-way shared by the City and Miami County, requiring specific roadway restoration considerations as a result of disturbance of County-owned and operated roadways. Vectren Gas Company maintains a large, high-pressure transmission gas main that bisected this project, and our firm’s ongoing communication with Vectren during design and construction enabled us to mitigate any potential issues with excavation and utility work bordering Vectren’s infrastructure.

Because of an ephemeral stream crossing the project site, we also used horizontal direction drilling techniques to install approximately 800 linear feet of new ductile iron water main to reduce the potential for environmental or property owner disturbance issues.