CWA ratifies contracts, accepts notice of completion for Pipeline 5 repairs

Eventually the San Diego County Water Authority will develop and implement a long-term fix for the vulnerability of the three SDCWA pipelines in Moosa Canyon, but the short-term fix for Pipeline 5 is now complete.

A unanimous CWA board vote, Thursday, May 28, ratified four contracts approved administratively by CWA general manager Sandra Kerl and authorized Kerl to accept the work as complete.

“Earlier this month, in May, we shut down Pipeline 5 to remove the bulkheads and we resumed normal operations on May 8,” Neena Kuzmich, engineering manager of CWA, said.

Pipeline 5 is a pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe 96 inches in diameter and was built in 1982. It provides untreated supply to CWA member agencies and is one of three pipelines on the CWA’s Second Aqueduct. After an August 2019 leak in Pipeline 4 was repaired, CWA staff inspected the other two pipelines in the Moosa Canyon area. The inspection took place in late January, when the two pipelines could be drained for access during a planned maintenance-related shutdown.

“That’s when we identified that the pipeline was stressed,” Kuzmich said.

The operating pressure within Pipeline 5 at Moosa Canyon exceeds 400 pounds per square inch, so a catastrophic failure could create considerable environmental damage as well as damage to Pipelines 3 and 4 and to a Rainbow Municipal Water District pipeline in the area.

A CWA board vote, Feb. 27, authorized Kerl to take the necessary contracting and other actions for the repairs on Pipeline 5 in Moosa Creek, which allowed for the issuance of contracts before the March 26 board meeting. The contracts were issued through a competitive acquisition waiver process rather than through the normal competitive procurement process. J.F. Shea Inc. was issued a contract for the Pipeline 5 bulkhead installation and removal and FibrWrap Construction Services Inc. was given the Pipeline 5 carbon fiber lining contract.

“We isolated just over 5 miles of pipeline in order to perform the repair,” Kuzmich said.

The CWA’s operations and maintenance, engineering, water resources and public affairs departments worked on various repair issues including coordination with member agencies and with the member agency customers regarding shutdowns.

“This was a multi-department effort,” Kuzmich said.

A shutdown to install the isolation bulkheads began March 30 and lasted until April 4. FibrWrap mobilized and began preparation, April 6, and started installing the actual carbon fiber reinforced polymer material, April 12. The carbon fiber lining work was finished April 17. Time was allowed for the carbon fiber to cure before contact with water occurred. The pipeline was shut down to remove the bulkheads from May 4-7.

The work included removing and reinstalling approximately 1,000 feet of fiberoptic monitoring cable to protect that cable from the carbon fiber lining activity. Separation and sanitizing protocol were included in the work which began after the coronavirus outbreak.

“Due to COVID-19 we had to implement some new procedures,” Kuzmich said.

In addition to the two construction contracts, Kerl issued two professional services contracts which were subsequently ratified by the CWA board. WSP USA Inc. provided construction management and inspection services for the bulkhead installation which included daily field and welding inspection, preparation of daily inspection reports, and photo documentation. Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. provided construction monitoring and laboratory testing of the carbon fiber reinforced polymer strengthening which included daily monitoring of the installation, preparation of daily monitoring reports with photo documentation, laboratory testing of carbon fiber test panels and a final report summarizing the monitoring and testing activities.

The final contract price for FibrWrap, including change orders, was $612,017.26. The J.F. Shea contract was for $515,000.

The professional services contracts had maximum authorized amounts; the WSP USA contract was for a maximum of $238,420 and the Simpson Gumpertz & Heger contract was not to exceed $223,000. Those contracts were based on 29 days of work.

“The actual installation took only 13 days,” Kuzmich said.

The CWA will adjust the professional services contracts based on the actual work schedule.

“The actual cost will be invoiced,” Kuzmich said.

During the construction the CWA retained 5% of the FibrWrap and J.F. Shea contract amounts. The acceptance of the work as complete allows those funds to be released 60 days after the notice of completion and receipt of a signed conditional waiver and release of liens and claims from the contractor. Both contractors provided faithful performance bonds for a post-construction warranty period and those bonds will remain in force; the FibrWrap warranty period is five years and the J.F. Shea warranty is for two years.

The carbon fiber lining is considered to be a temporary repair which will last for approximately 10 years. A comprehensive study on Pipelines 3, 4 and 5 in the Moosa Creek area will identify needed long-term improvements. That study is planned to occur during fiscal year 2020-2021, and the results of that study will determine future design and construction work which will be proposed for a future Capital Improvement Program budget.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].