Helping Passaic's water system prepare for the future

Opportunity

The Passaic Valley Water Commission (PVWC) maintains and operates an expansive water distribution system that provides approximately 75 million gallons per day (MGD) to retail and wholesale customers.

The Master Plan Study provides a detailed analysis of water demands, water quality, infrastructure, storage, pumping capacity, interconnection capacity and hydraulics.

Solution

Mott MacDonald performed a field inventory and inspection of 110 existing interconnections with other purveyors. For each interconnection, a detailed inventory and condition assessment was performed, representative photographs taken, capacity estimated, and a schematic developed.

As part of the Master Plan, a Geographic Information System (GIS) was developed. The GIS effort included an inventory, inspection and data conversion of all infrastructure (pipes, valves, hydrants, pumping and storage facilities, river and bridge crossings, and interconnections) within the distribution system.

The locations of the infrastructure components were digitized into AutoCAD and ARC/INFO from available mapping and then registered to overlay on USGS mapping. The process involved the development of an “intelligent” map within ArcView containing many themes (layers), including these:

County and municipal boundaries
Interconnection and pump station locations
USGS mapping and topography
Reservoir and tank locations.

The ArcView project contains links to facility schematics and images. The ArcView project interfaces with a Microsoft Access Database of infrastructure components. A hydraulic model was developed that integrated with the GIS system.

Outcome

The inspection information was linked to the GIS mapping of the interconnections. Recommendations for capital improvement projects were provided to improve transfer capacity and improve overall system redundancy and hydraulics.

Operation and Maintenance practices for the system were reviewed, and capital expenditure recommendations over the next 50 years were developed to assure a reliable supply of water to the customer base.