The Amazing Race, Oklahoma Edition: Fast-Track Alignment Selection for a 70-Mile Pipeline

The city of Enid, located in northwest Oklahoma, is outgrowing their existing ground water supply and initiated a surface water supply program to begin supplementing the existing ground water by 2021 to provide a long-term solution to increasing demands. The water supply project will provide 19.5 MGD, via 36-in pipeline, from the proposed surface water source, Kaw Lake, approximately seventy (70) miles to the east of Enid. In 2017, the city began Phase 2 of this project which includes an alignment study, route selection, and hydraulic analysis. In order to meet the proposed in-service date, Phase 2 needed to be complete in one year requiring a quarter mile of alignment design per day. This paper will elaborate on the team organization and walk through strategies developed to deliver the project on time. The analysis methods and lessons learned during the alignment selection of the raw water transmission pipeline will also be discussed. The alignment selection was within the confines of quarter mile wide corridor identified in Phase 1. Alignment alternatives were produced on the basis of minimizing known potential environmental impacts, potential impact to landowners, constructability concerns, topographic characteristics that negatively impact hydraulic profile, and maximizing permanent easement access. Field walks of all the alignment alternatives were conducted to gather additional information on the potential identified alignments such as wetlands, structures, and existing utilities. The total length covered in the field walks was close to 140 mi equating to approximately 1 million steps for the project team. Additionally, the paper will detail the intricacies of pipeline construction on properties owned by sovereign governments (Native American tribes). Cost estimating was included in the alignment selection based on corridor characteristics linked with data obtained on recent market trends. A triple bottom line analysis was used to aid in determining the recommended alignment based upon social, economic, and environmental concerns. This alignment selection will provide the basis of design for the city’s Raw Water Supply project.