Roadside Fusion in Florida Keys

Once you cross the 18Mile Stretch into the Florida Keys from the mainland, the world seems to turn at a happily slower pace.

By car, there is only one way to get there — a 127.5mile, mostly twolane road known as the Overseas Highway (U.S. 1). It travels along a patchwork of land and sea featuring 42 bridges including the Seven Mile Bridge atop portions of the former Overseas Railroad.

Only an estimated 76,300 people are permanent residents to this swirl of seemingly endless islets that divide the Atlantic from the Gulf, but each year some 3 million visitors flock to this multiblue seascape to soak in all it has to offer.

The swivel and reamer at the head of the drill pipe appear on the east side of the channel so that the pullback can begin.

The Situation

But there is a very real challenge in preserving and maintaining this dreamy paradise. The Keys’ sewage systems are outdated and not adequately protecting these pristine waters. The state is mandating that new central sewer systems be constructed and complete throughout the Keys by Dec. 31, 2015.

The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (FKAA), which provides water services to more than 44,000 customers in the Florida Keys, is currently mitigating the problem along with Monroe County, other municipalities and the State of Florida. This joint program effort has a composite cost of about $800 million. One of the remaining projects is the Cudjoe Regional system in the lower keys which the FKAA is currently building to the tune of $180 million dollars.

“Reducing nutrient loading to nearshore waters expeditiously is important to not only the environment and protection of the reef, but also the Florida Keys touristbased economy,” said Tom Walker, manager of engineering for the FKAA.

According to the FKAA, the Florida Keys’ sewer systems have primarily consisted of cesspits, septic systems, aerobic treatment units and small, privatelyowned wastewater treatment plants that have provided little or no removal of nutrients. Disposal methods are also inadequate with nutrients escaping from drain fields and injection wells because of the porous nature of the limestone substrate.

The decline in water quality and deterioration of the reef has been directly linked to the nutrients in human waste, studies show. Over time, this has created a biomass of macroalgae that is overgrowing seagrass and adult corals and obstructing the development of juvenile coral. It is also depleting oxygen levels which chokes off aquatic life and degrades water quality.

The impact on the environment also comes at a cost financially.

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary conducted a study in 2008 which concluded that a decline to the reef would be detrimental to the water activities that drive the Keys’ tourist economy. The Florida Reef supports more than 33,000 jobs and creates an estimated $2.3 billion in annual revenue.

The Solution

To remedy this problem, most of the outdated systems are being replaced with a central wastewater system featuring an Advanced Water Reclamation Facility (AWRF) on Cudjoe Key that will treat nearly 1 million gallons of wastewater daily in accordance with state standards. Wastewater will be pumped to the AWRF from an expansive collection and transmission pipeline system.

Because of the Key’s unique landscape there are a number of challenges to overcome. The Keys are actually the exposed portions of an ancient and fossilized coral reef, only three feet above sea level, and since the pipeline system will be connecting seven islands — Lower Sugarloaf, Upper Sugarloaf, Cudjoe, Summerland, Ramrod, Little Torch and Big Pine — they will be laying pipe under land and sea.

“Cutting through rock and dewatering of porous limerock coupled with maintaining traffic on U.S. 1, the only road in and out of the Keys, are some of the impediments being conquered,” Walker said.

The collection portion of the pipeline system is comprised of nearly 130 miles of PVC and smallerdiameter highdensity polyethylene pipe (HDPE) that will use both lowpressure and gravity technologies. It will connect to a largerdiameter, 17mile wastewater transmission system. The transmission pipe is being buried along U.S. 1 and 10 bridge crossings using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and bridge attachment methodologies. This includes the Niles Channel HDD crossing with 5,000’ of 18” DR7 HDPE to a depth of 60’ below the sea bed.

After the nutrients are removed from the wastewater as treated at the AWRF, it will be injected in wells that meet Florida Department of Layne construction crews fuse 2” HDPE pipe Environmental Protection requirements. connections to residential properties on Little Torch Key using a McElroy Pit Bull® 14. The Cudjoe (Key) Regional Wastewater Service area is a 56square mile area that will serve about 8,200 developed parcels and about 9,000 dwelling units.

The FKAA awarded three construction contracts to perform this mammoth undertaking. Layne Heavy Civil was awarded the designbuild contract for the largest segment of the Cudjoe Regional Wastewater Service Area which includes the Outer Islands Collections and Transmission System for about 5,000 customers on Lower Sugarloaf Key, Ramrod Key, Little Torch Key and Big Pine Key. “Layne is pleased to partner with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority and Monroe County to implement this crucial designbuild project which will protect water quality in this beautiful marine environment,” said Wesley Self, PE, DBIA, Program Manager.

The project is currently within budget and has received $30 million in grant funding from the State of Florida to help finance the project.

HD Supply Fusible Piping supplied nearly a million feet of HDPE and fusible PVC pipe for Layne’s portion of the project as well as the sale and rental of McElroy pipe fusion machines. They were involved in the material design and pipe selection so that the products were perfectly suited for the application.

The smallerdiameter 1 ¼” to 8” HDPE pipe is being connected to residential properties via grinder pumps extending from the main lines. Layne has been using McElroy’s handoperated Pit Bull® fusion machines to butt fuse tees and fittings.

“We are always working hard to bring dedicated service and value to all our customers and the owners of these projects,” said Paul Dreher, Fusible Product Manager, HD Supply Fusible Piping. “With technical expertise as the job is being engineered and onsite contractor support once the job is being built, we are proud to have played a major role in the success of this worldclass project.”

The transmission system will include a pumped transmission main with six islandspecific booster pump stations. The pipe selected was 18” HDPE pipe which was being butt fused and staged on a narrow land strip south of the Niles Channel along U.S. 1 in February.

Since then, Layne’s designbuild team, including Utility Services Authority LLC as a subcontractor, provided design and permitting services for a 5,217 linear foot, 18” HDPE directional bore beneath Niles Channel connecting Ramrod Key to Summerland Key. They performed this record bore in one, 18hour shift ahead of schedule.

To avoid clearing Mangroves and disrupting wetlands habitats, Julie Cheon, water quality and environmental manager for the FKAA, said they will be using sliplining and curedinplace pipe (CIPP) techniques where possible. Monroe County is requiring all developed properties to be connect to the new centralized wastewater system where it is available.

Those in more remote areas where connection to the central system isn’t feasible can opt to participate in an onsite wastewater nutrient removal system program operated by the FKAA.

Mini‐Mc®

One of McElroy’s smallest fusion machines, the MiniMc®, makes smalldiameter butt fusion projects simple. The MiniMc is compact, lightweight, reliable, accurate and rugged. Perfect for joining ¹∕Ё” CTS to 1” IPS (16mm to 34mm) service sizes, the MiniMc requires only one operator and works in the most difficult conditions.

McElroy’s patented features and precision engineering provide joint integrity and minimal maintenance. The narrow clamp design allows for precise pipe alignment at the fusion joint. The heater is thermostaticallycontrolled and has a durable antistick coating.

Features

2.3to1 mechanical advantage Jaws use same inserts as the 1LC Handoperated Thermostaticallycontrolled heater Knurled and Ratchet Facers sold separately Our jobsite photo this month comes from Wayne Wilding of the McElroy Technical Centre in the UK. Wayne was providing technical assistance to Mocke Pipeline Construction at the Kalumbila Mine in Zambia. Here is the Rolling 412 in action. If you have photos from a jobsite, we'd love to see them! Yours may be chosen for the next issue of McElroy Connections. Simply email your photos to [email protected].

This month is your LAST CHANCE to get the new “Don’t Pitch A Tent” tshirts. Just show off your jobsite photo in our QuickCamp Photo Contest and we’ll send one your way. Details and entry here: http://woobox.com/pbmy8t Aug 5th McElroy has been celebrating its 60th Anniversary all year long! Did you know … With the demand for higher standards in the British gas industry, we wanted to design a machine that was fully automated. This would remove operator error and allow for a repeatable quality fusion. In 1980, McElroy built the 28 AutoMc® Fusion Machine to meet the need. McElroy also fulfilled its vision of opening a Tech Center and developing an in house training program through McElroy University. Aug 1st Five new people have successfully completed their assessments to become McElroy Certified Instructors! Welcome to the team Sergio Sanhueza (ISCO South America), Jeremy Somerville (ISCO Australia), Jim Whitaker (SECOR), Shane Councilman (HD Supply Waterworks) and Allen Stratton (Wolseley Industrial Group). Learn more about operator qualification or qualifying to be a MCI at McElroy University http://ow.ly/zB7ML. Jul 28th Share your fusion joint records from the field with multiple people in multiple locations with the new DataLogger® Vault™. http://goo.gl/IDBUr8 Jul 18th Chad S. is fusing in 100degree heat (at 6:45 in the morning!!) That sounds like a long, hot day. Show off your most extreme weather jobsite or toughest working conditions photo and we’ll send you a free QuickCamp t shirt! http://woobox.com/pbmy8t Jul 7th