Massive pipeline dig starts Monday

SPRINGVILLE — Construction of a massive pipeline to carry Colorado River water to the Salt Lake City area begins Monday, when crews start digging up 400 East.

The year-long project is part of the federal Central Utah Project Completion Act.

A 60-inch-diameter, 2/3-inch-thick flexible steel pipe will run 8 feet to 12 feet under the full length of the street, a main Springville artery. The pipeline will eventually tie into the Provo Reservoir Canal, which in turn delivers water to the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District facility and the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy, said spokeswoman Chris Finlinson of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, headquartered in Orem.

The water enters the state in the Uinta Mountains north of Duchesne, makes it way to the Strawberry Reservoir, then passes through the Syar Tunnel, down through huge pipes in Diamond Fork Canyon, then through Spanish Fork Canyon, where it splits.

Part of the water — 30,000 acre feet annually — goes to south Utah County for household use, with Springville getting a sixth of that. Another 30,000 acre feet flows into Utah's population capitol. Pipe construction also is under way in Mapleton, just south of Springville.

The Springville City Council held hearings on the construction project in August, when city leaders worried about the devastation that could happen if the pipe, capable of 400 pounds per square inch of pressure, were to burst, before granting an easement. Water in the pipe will be under less pressure than the pipe is capable of handling, Finlinson said.

Water-conservancy officials said then that the chances of that happening were slim, if not impossible, but added that the federal government never accepts liability for such projects. However, Don Christianson, conservancy-district director, agreed then that the district would do its best to respond if the pipeline failed.

"A steel pipe just doesn't really rupture," Finlinson said. "However, we do have an emergency-response plan worked out with Springville."

Crews plan to cover the pipe with mortar on the outside and line it with cement on the inside. The joints are double welded, and sensors will monitor the pipeline, Finlinson said.

Construction crews will lay the pipe in sections to minimize interference with daily traffic, she said. Once a section is complete, crews will cover it and then move on to the next section. Buried utilities encountered along the way will be replaced at the expense of the federal government.

The contract with the city requires the Central Utah Water Conservancy District to install 10,000 feet of new curb and gutter along 400 East.

e-mail: rodger@desnews.com