Water System Expansion

The Star Sewer & Water District has grown at a staggering rate of more than 10% annually for the last few years, driving the need for improved water supply. Amid this growth, the District’s primary Well 3 unexpectedly began pumping sand and had to be abandoned. The District was also forced to abandon Well 2 due to poor water quality; this left only Well 1 to meet main pressure zone water demands, creating an even greater supply shortage. During this time, complaints also increased from customers drawing from Well 1 about poor water taste, odor, and discoloration (due to naturally occurring iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide).

Faced with these challenges, the District turned to Keller to provide engineering services to improve overall water quality and replenish the water supply. To accomplish this goal, a unique drilling and monitoring well approach was used. Six, two-inch piezometers—screened at different depths to target specific aquifer lenses—were installed inside an eight-inch monitoring well. By isolating the lenses, our team collected water quality samples along the full depth of the well. Only the desirable water quality lenses in the aquifer were tapped when the District began drilling two new wells.

In addition to two new wells and pumping facilities, this effort included a five-pump regional booster station, a 750,000-gallon concrete water tank constructed in the challenging terrain of the Star foothills, repairs to a 30-year-old water tank, and more than 4,000 feet of 10-inch to 24-inch waterlines. Each stage of the project came with specific challenges and complexity. The work also required numerous infrastructure types and, consequently, an array of engineering disciplines from Keller. Our team provided experts in electrical, controls and integration, roadway and bridge design, site civil, structural, mechanical and HVAC, and surveying.