In order to meet the anticipated demand increase while also shifting to utilizing surface water in Texas, the Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project (LBITP) will transfer existing surface water rights held by the City of Houston in the Trinity River to Lake Houston in the San Jacinto basin. The LBITP is a $318 million water supply project that includes a 500 MGD pump station (located on a 90-acre parcel), approximately 3.6 miles of pipelines, setting basin and maintenance facility, 23 miles of open canals to convey the untreated water to an outfall structure at Lake Houston. One of the critical components of the LBITP is the pig retrieval station. The components at the pig retrieval station needed to withstand not only the forces of the day to day operations, but also accommodate the settlement presented by the terrain.

Brown & Gay Engineering, Inc. (BGE, Inc.) chose to utilize Victaulic system solutions, which included the Style W77 AGS Flexible Coupling and the Style W257 Dynamic Movement joint. These products provided fully restrained system solutions that met the design criteria of withstanding the forces of the day to day operations while simultaneously achieving the goal of reducing the size of the vault. By using the W257 joints, BGE, Inc. could achieve 4 inches of settlement in approximately 22 feet on this installation. Traditional methods would have required more than twice the excavation to install restraining devices, such as an M11 harness.

Additionally, the Victaulic Style W77 AGS Flexible Couplings provide a quick and easy method of entry required to access the isolation systems and the cleanout and retrieval areas. The Style W77 AGS Couplings provided the flexible solutions required for future system access in the event of routine system maintenance or untimely shutdown.

Victaulic’s mechanical capabilities provided inherent value engineering that minimized construction costs and schedules while overcoming the challenges presented by the pig retrieval station.

Publications

Houston’s Largest Surface-Water Project Brings Engineering Value and Confidence,  2020 Informed Infrastructure

WWD Project Spotlight: Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project, 2020 Water & Wastes Digest

Awards

2020 Top Water Projects, Water & Waste Digest

External Links

Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project Video | 2020 WWD Top Projects