Outside Influences on Large-Diameter Pipeline Route Selection Processes

In 2010, the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) contracted Freese and Nichols, Inc. (FNI), to begin the design of a 54-in. diameter pipeline in the northern end of its service area to meet the future growth projections of an area north of Dallas that has seen some of the highest population growths in the nation in the last 10 years. The project is named the North McKinney Pipeline, and the initial design is for two phases of an anticipated four-phase project. The North McKinney Pipeline is approximately 6.5 mi in length and was proposed as a 54-in. diameter treated water line. The line begins in the City of Lucas, travels north into the Town of Fairview, and then into the City of McKinney, which is the north end of the first two phases of this pipeline. The pipeline was designed to deliver needed capacity to southeast McKinney and Fairview and eventually on to the north and western areas of McKinney. As with many typical transmission pipelines, this project began as a fairly straightline conceptual layout, and during the preliminary design phase the scope was to develop three to four possible route options for the proposed pipeline. The area where this pipeline was planned to be constructed is generally mid-to-lower density residential land with some state highway frontage that currently has schools, small manufacturing facilities, and residential lots. No potential conflicts were foreseen for a route through the existing areas that would be necessary to avoid or have special construction considerations outside normal pipeline construction methods. The initial route study and alignment selection began with four to five route selections. NTMWD and FNI agreed on an initial route for the proposed pipeline from the preliminary route alternatives. However, once the route was selected and request for permission to enter properties notifications were sent out, a large amount of opposition from residents and the Town of Fairview was presented to NTMWD. At the request of NTMWD, the route selection process to develop and analyze several more possibilities for route alternatives was restarted. This paper will present the numerous different route alternatives developed for the North McKinney Pipeline through Lucas, Fairview, and McKinney. The reasoning, development process, and route alternative drivers that led to the development of 17 pipeline route alternatives will be detailed throughout the paper. Also, the paper will explore the demands that residents and cities can put on a water district and the influence they can have on pipeline routing and development.