Island Park Watermain Loop, City of Mound, Minnesota

Island Park Watermain Loop

Location
Icon of City of Mound, Minnesota

City of Mound, Minnesota

Overview

Geotechnical investigation was completed from above the frozen lake, saving the expense of barge borne drilling equipment for this horizontally directionally drilled watermain project under Lake Minnetonka.

Sectors

The City of Mound has long had a goal of increasing fire safety and providing multiple routes to bring water to the Island Park neighborhood. Seizing an opportunity to connect two areas of the water distribution system, Bolton & Menk designed an HDPE pipe connection that would be horizontally directionally drilled (HDD) under Lake Minnetonka between two parks and provide the needed link in their system.

A study for the watermain loop occurred during the winter months so that geotechnical investigation could be completed from above the frozen lake, saving the expense of barge borne drilling equipment. Poor soils under the lake demanded multiple iterations and alignments be considered as well as multiple drilling locations. Ultimately, an efficient and short route was chosen and permitted.

Part of the plan was to stage the fused HDPE pipe on the frozen lake, but warmer than normal conditions made this impossible. Changes to the plan and additional traffic control kept the contractor working and local residents circulating until the difficult drill and pullback were successfully completed.

Related Projects

Top work place banners for Mn, IA, and NC

Named one of the very best workplaces in the States of Minnesota and Iowa! We’re proud to rank in the Top 50 on the list, and even prouder that we were voted in by our own employees.