Upground Reservoir – PCM Part 1

Smoot Construction was a part of the AECOM team selected by the City of Columbus, OH, to provide Professional Construction Management (PCM) services on the Department of Water’s Water Supply Group Capital Improvement Program.

Due to the continual growth of Central Ohio and the subsequent water supply needs, the Columbus Department of Public Utilities recommended three upground reservoirs near the Scioto River in northwest Delaware County. They opted to construct the largest of the three reservoirs – The Dublin Road Water Treatment Plant – to provide an additional 29 million gallons per day (MGD). This plant serves downtown Columbus, the west side and several western Franklin County suburban communities.

Following an extensive design phase, Columbus’ upground reservoir began construction in spring 2011, was completed in fall 2013, and was full with water by spring 2014. The 9-billion-gallon-capacity Doutt reservoir is located on 843 acres of city-owned land mostly in Thompson Township in northwest Delaware County, with a small portion of it in Union County. A pump station was built near the reservoir site and an inflatable weir was installed in the Scioto River. A network of pipelines and control valves were also built. The raw water pump station to fill the reservoir will also return water to the Scioto River during drought periods.

The Raw Water Line Project was one of three contracts as part of the new Upground Reservoir construction. The raw water line connected the Reservoir Raw Water Pump Station to the Upground Reservoir Site No. 2 located a few miles away.

The major elements of the project included:

• Approximately 20,000 LF of 72-inch steel pipe. This was the first large diameter welded steel project done for the City of Columbus.
• Reconstruction of several roads (Hoskins and Mooney) that were used as haul routes for the projects.
• Construction of new valve structures along the raw water line alignment.

The recommended two additional upground reservoirs would provide an additional 23 MGD. The need for those reservoirs will be determined in future years; no construction dates have been set.