In early October 2022 , RH2 was honored to attend Lakewood Water District’s celebration for completing the Wholesale Transmission Main Extension (WTME) project. The Partners, which include the District, Firgrove Mutual Inc, Spanaway Water Company, Summit Water & Supply Company, and Washington Water Service, recognized the efforts of the team that made project successful.
RH2 originally designed 24,000 LF of 20-inch ductile iron pipe through Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Lakewood, and Pierce County, along a largely dry and flat alignment in 2008 to bring water from Lakewood to another water purveyor in Pierce County. In 2017, RH2 was then hired to design the WTME, which added an additional 36,000 LF (6 miles) of 20-inch ductile iron pipe to the end of the existing pipe, to bring water to two additional water purveyors in Pierce County, with a future connection designed for a third. The project included two interties to the water systems of the additional water purveyors.
Our experienced team worked closely with the District to successfully navigate several challenges during this effort, including a route realignment after design was underway and extensive geotechnical and environmental assessment to determine the optimal route. The transmission main is designed to transmit 10 million gallons per day of potable water at full capacity. To meet the client’s accelerated timeline, several steps were taken to speed up the traditional bid/build process. Prospective general contractors were pre-qualified ahead of bidding to have a faster turnaround. Additionally, 90 percent of the materials for the project were pre-purchased by the District before the installation contract was awarded to decrease the lead time necessary for material procurement.
“Lakewood Water District has enjoyed our relationship with RH2 for well over 20 years. RH2 has proven to be an engineering firm that has great levels of expertise on many levels of discipline within the firm needed by water utilities like our District,” said Randall Black, General Manager.
More than 50 RH2 staff worked on this project and RH2's efforts through the years were recognized during the evening. As a token of the District's appreciation, we were named an Outstanding Partner.
