Miami-Dade Force Main Operations, Preventative Maintenance and Assessment/Rehabilitation Program

 
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To comply with a consent decree requiring plans for the continued improvement of wastewater collection and transmission system and wastewater treatment plants, MDWASD contracted with Woolpert to prepare a Force Main Operations, Preventative Maintenance and Assessment/Rehabilitation Program (FMOPMARP) to eliminate, reduce, prevent or otherwise control sanitary sewer overflows.

MDWASD’s force main transmission system consists of approximately 935 miles of force mains, 1,834 automatic and 1,259 manual air release valves, and approximately 160 stream/canal crossings. One component of the county’s plan was force main criticality assessment and prioritization report, which would serve as a framework for the repair, rehabilitation or replacement of MDWASD’s force mains.

Woolpert’s initial step for identifying force mains with a high risk of failure was to perform a desktop evaluation of all force main pipeline assets. This desktop assessment focused resources on the force mains with the highest probability of failure. High-risk pipes were evaluated on an individual level (including as-built reviews, previous corrosion studies and review of past failures) and scored for the probability of failure and consequence of failure. Physical and geographical attributes of each pipe were assigned a weighted rating factor according to the significance of the risk involved.

Once identified, the high-priority force mains were slated to undergo further assessment under the force main assessment program using the appropriate technology for the specific pipe material, location and accessibility.

Client
Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department

Location
Miami, FL

 Services

  • Sanitary sewer evaluation surveys
  • Regulatory compliance assistance