What lies beneath: JBER upgrades water supply lines

  • Published
  • By David Bedard
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  With heritage comes an understanding of where we come from and who we are. With heritage comes a feeling of community and intergenerational continuity. But, unfortunately, with heritage often comes metallic corrosion and leaky pipe joints.

Built in 1953 at a factory in Anniston, Alabama, a fire hydrant stood vigil near a Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shoppette through the Cold War, the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the War on Terror.

With tired rubber seals and worn brass fittings, it was finally time for contracted tradesmen to replace the unit as part of a larger project - upgrading aging water-supply infrastructure on base.

"The nature of this project is to upgrade the base water system to bring cleaner potable water to the facilities on base - both domestic and for the water for the fire distribution sprinkler systems," said Steven Sawyer, 673d Civil Engineer Squadron Contract Management construction manager.

Currently, contractors are working on Sijan Avenue and Slammer Avenue in the vicinity of 3rd Wing headquarters.

Sawyer said some of the water mains at JBER were laid during the World War II era and were in great need of replacement.

"[The legacy plumbing] had exceeded its lifecycle," he said. "It was originally put in when the base was built."

Because the old water mains were routed under roads, Sawyer said the street pavement needed to be replaced, too, along with much of the curbing and other supporting infrastructure.

The joints between cement pipes began to erode and leak. Old valves wouldn't completely shut, requiring tradesmen to shut off two or more valves in order to service a building. The process required more than the target building to lose water service during repairs.

New fittings will eliminate any unnecessary inconveniences associated with service visits.

"We're able to put in valves where we want them and where we need them," Sawyer said. "So whenever we need to do maintenance, we can do it with the smallest disruption possible to the user."

The process took a lot of planning and interagency coordination. Months before breaking ground, Sawyer completed an initial site visit to determine the scope of the project and the sequence of events necessary to efficiently complete the job. He coordinated with affected facility managers to ensure they could work around road closures.

On daily site visits, Sawyer knows tradesmen by name. He wears a smile with his hardhat and orange safety vest, but he is thorough in ensuring contractors meet code and the base's specified requirements.

The job calls for a wide variety of trade disciplines including surveyors, pipe fitters, heavy-equipment operators, electricians and road-construction tradesmen.

Sawyer said surveyors are especially critical in a job like this because of the risk of damaging underlying infrastructure. With accurately laid survey marks, severance of electrical lines is avoided during digging operations.

Crews are replacing cement pipe with high-density polyethylene. Sections of the HDPE piping are joined in a process called heat fusion where the adjoining ends of two sections are shaved to make them square for a precise fit. They are then heated and bonded, making the joint as strong as the pipe.

Sawyer said all of the planning, the work and the traffic delays will be worth the results of improved water mains, valves and fittings.

"The benefit will be better, more consistent water service," he said.

A new fire hydrant replaced the 1953 unit, both new and old sharing a design that hasn't changed much in more than 80 years. But the new one isn't connected to a grid of cement pipes like the Anniston unit. It's connected to HDPE piping Sawyer said will last for hundreds of years.

Along with the new infrastructure comes a heritage of long-term sustainability for generations.