ENR MOUNTAIN STATES 2013 BEST PROJECTS AWARD Project Description The Southern Delivery System (SDS) is a Southern Colorado project that will bring water from the Arkansas River to residents and businesses in the City of Colorado Springs, the City of Fountain, Security Water District and Pueblo West Metropolitan District. The project is needed to maximize the communities’ investment in existing water delivery infrastructure, provide for a redundant method of delivery for Colorado Springs western slope water supply and ensure capacity for the region’s forecasted future growth. This delivery is critical to maintaining a healthy economy and quality of life, to ensuring an uninterrupted and reliable water supply for both domestic and commercial use and to protecting the community against

future drought, particularly important in the arid Western United States. Colorado Springs Utilities and MWH staff are working together as an integrated program management team (SDS Project Team) alongside the general contractor and design engineer. The project is divided into more than 20 separate work packages with delivery of water to the project partners expected by April 2016. In June 2011, the South Pipeline 2 project, one of the most complex phases of pipeline construction, required the installation of 6.4 miles of 66-inch diameter, welded steel pipe through a residential area in Pueblo West, CO. The project involved trenching and pipe laying in easements on more than 125 properties, tunneling underneath a busy state highway, purchasing and demolishing five houses, relocating two residential septic systems and the crossing of existing potable water pipelines serving the community.

Overcoming Challenges and Teamwork As Program Manager, MWH outlined the key focus areas and expectations associated with the delivery of South Pipeline 2 as safety, quality and public involvement. Garney Construction was awarded the contract as general contractor and was quick to join the integrated team approach to meet the challenges.

A significant challenge associated with this project was its proximity to the surrounding residential community. The SDS Project Team collectively managed critical issues related to community safety, such as limiting the use of and/or placing barriers around open trenches during evenings and weekends; relocating school bus stops; mailing and hand-delivering notices of haul routes and road closures/detours; and installing construction fencing compatible with residents’ needs. The proactive team effort resulted in no lost-time or recordable safety incidents for the contractor or the public. Installation of the 66-inch pipeline crossed 15 asbestos potable water lines that serve the residential community. By working closely with project partner Pueblo West Metropolitan District, the SDS Project Team minimized disruption to the community by installing additional valves and replacing lines on the existing water system before construction. Similarly Colorado Springs Utilities and MWH staff worked with local utility Black Hills Energy to relocate electrical lines before construction to minimize the risks associated with working underneath and around power lines. Another challenge while constructing South Pipeline 2 was handling unknown buried utilities such as telephone and cable services. Many utilities were found to be unmarked and at shallow depths due to the prevalence of rock and shale. Construction resulted in occasional disruption of utilities services for residents. When these disruptions occurred, the SDS Project Team quickly identified the service, contacted and informed the affected residents and verified when the utility company completed repairs. Temporary cell phones and/or internet hotspots also were supplied to residents as needed. Safety Program Description Colorado Springs Utilities and MWH pre-qualified seven contractors to competitively bid on the South Pipeline 2 project. The bid documentation set a high standard for the site-specific safety plan, clearly communicating to potential bidders the safety expectations of the SDS Project Team. The successful bidder, Garney Construction, presented a program with a clear expectation of safety for all employees and subcontractors, setting a high safety standard that was upheld through completion of the project. At the start of work, Garney Construction implemented a daily Safety Task Analysis Card, which was distributed prior to commencement of any construction activity. This prompted workers to analyze hazards and plan for the unexpected during construction.

MWH supplied field inspection staff to oversee the execution of construction and provide coordination for Colorado Springs Utilities. Garney Construction completed 87,000 hours worked without a lost-time safety incident and without any recordable safety incidents. As stated by John Fredell, the SDS Program Director, “This is particularly impressive considering the potentially hazardous nature of conducting trenching construction operations through residential communities. The South Pipeline 2 section was one of the more complex projects in the SDS Program construction and Garney Construction’s team delivered this extremely well.” Innovation & Contribution to the Industry/Community The SDS Project Team designed and implemented an innovative public involvement program for the South Pipeline 2 project that focused on relationship-building with residents of affected areas before, during and after construction. A key benefit of this process was that staff were able to assess any needs – physical disabilities of residents that require special access, for example -- and to prevent or resolve issues quickly and efficiently. Team members communicated with residents via letters, door hanger notices, e-mail, newsletters, signage, personal visits and several community appreciation events. Team members staffed a 24-hour telephone hotline, which proved to be an essential tool. The team also collaborated with regulatory agencies, emergency first responders and businesses to address concerns. The public involvement component of the project served not just to prevent or resolve issues for residents but also as a key tool in the project’s compliance with permits and other regulatory requirements. This intensive approach enabled the team to mitigate and close out concerns for the 125-plus properties associated with South Pipeline 2. One innovative way to contribute to the community came from an unusual source – the project’s need to purchase and remove five houses. After the former owners were relocated, the SDS Project Team partnered with the local Habitat for Humanity to recycle fixtures and building materials from the houses. Then the houses were offered to emergency services for training. Area fire and police departments cut roofs for access, practiced many firefighting techniques and performed mock SWAT responses for armed standoffs. The project team learned during this collaboration that the first responders desired confined space training and other emergency exercises. By accommodating the requests, the project team helped to improve the training of personnel serving the community and demonstrated the SDS Project’s commitment to community partnerships. The team also facilitated regular meetings with first-responders to discuss upcoming construction and identify and identify information needs for the multiple jurisdictions along the pipeline alignment.

Construction Quality & Craftsmanship The determination of probable construction costs during design was critical to Colorado Springs Utilities. MWH requested that the South Pipeline 2 design engineer perform a systematic value engineering of the pipeline, particularly the joint design, as this would impact the construction schedule. Among the value engineering proposals accepted was the use of weld-after-backfill (WAB), a construction technique for steel water conveyance pipelines in which the bell and spigot lap joint is internally welded after the exterior joint coating is applied and the pipe trench backfilled. WAB results in faster pipe installation, minimizing construction disruption to the residential community, and a lower installation cost. Welding and follow-up inspection on the inside of a large-diameter pipe can be safer and more practical than welding on the pipe joint exterior, where work can be performed in a shored trench and under unpredictable weather. WAB saved Colorado Springs Utilities considerable cost and significantly shortened the construction schedule. To control quality during construction, the SDS Project Team chose a number of specialized, independent quality firms who provided quality inspections and oversight services such as: • Certified Weld Inspection • Geotechnical Materials Testing • NACE-Certified Corrosion Protection • Noise and Dust Background Levels and Monitoring • Seismic Monitoring of Construction Vibration • Revegetation Specialist Consultation • Pre-construction Photography and Videotaping The SDS Project Team also sponsored a number of workshops to attract locally owned or small firms and/or those owned by minorities or women to participate in the quality work. Another key quality step came when MWH coordinated consultant inspections and shared the results with Garney Construction, thus eliminating the need for costly additional testing . Colorado Springs Utilities, MWH and Garney Construction are currently performing annual inspections for the four-year warranty phase of the project lifecycle. Function and Aesthetic Quality of the Design Colorado Springs Utilities is a dynamic, municipally owned utility with multiple specialist divisions supporting water, wastewater, power generation/distribution and gas. These specialist divisions were involved in the design reviews, providing expertise in health and safety, security, corrosion protection, fiber-optic communications, laboratory services, raw water operations and environmental services. The collaboration with those divisions was very beneficial; among the ideas that came from the surveying and mapping group was to reference all pipe joint locations with the global positioning system (GPS) during final installation. The result is a detailed record for future maintenance use.

The South Pipeline 2 design engineer worked closely with Colorado Springs Utilities and MWH to provide comprehensive design documentation that included feedback from multiple stakeholders including local governments, various affected utilities and individual residents. There are limited aesthetic features for a buried pipeline, however, all above-ground features, such as air release vents, blow off and discharge chambers, were installed to minimize the aesthetic impacts to landowners. The design engineer also designated haul routes to minimize the impact of construction traffic on residential roads. One technique was to use pilot cars to guide deliveries of pipe and large equipment so that the construction traffic could more easily stay on the predetermined haul routes. The final restoration and revegetation of the South Pipeline 2 disturbed area was of particular importance to residents during outreach discussions. The SDS Project Team procured a separate specialty contractor for this critical phase of construction to directly manage the soil preparation, planting and irrigation needs. At the request of project partner Pueblo West Metropolitan District, the SDS Project Team also improved an existing trail along the pipeline easement for the community to enjoy upon completion of the project.