The design of the replacement of a crucial pump station in Dallas, TX, has been honored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas (ACEC TX) with an Engineering Excellence Award.
The Walnut Hill Water Pump Station project received a Silver Medal Award from ACEC TX in its Water and Wastewater category. STV served as the engineer-of-record on the design-build project, providing final design services for the complete replacement of the pump station while keeping the existing facility operational during construction. The firm also provided quality control services, construction oversight and permitting services.
Located in northwest Dallas, the pump station has provided drinking water to residents and local businesses since 1949. Despite facility renovations in 1985 and the addition of a temporary facility in 1999, the pump station was beyond its useful life. The facility’s owner, Dallas Water Utilities (DWU), determined that it was in the best interest of DWU to completely replace the station.
STV’s team designed a single, new in-line booster pumping facility to replace the two existing stations. Based on current community water needs, the upgraded pump station was designed with a firm capacity of 44 million gallons per day (MGD).
Nestled between single-family homes and places of worship, the station’s architectural design and landscaping needed to reflect its surroundings.
In addition to the external visual elements, the project team incorporated noise mitigation provisions and high-efficiency equipment and lighting into the building’s design.
To keep the existing facility operational during the program, STV worked closely with DWU and the contractor, Eagle Contracting, L.P., to develop a construction sequence plan that minimized extended periods of service interruptions.
“Through close collaboration between STV, DWU and Eagle Contracting, the team has delivered an optimized pump station to meet drinking water needs of community and be a good neighbor to the surrounding residents,” said Phil Cook, P.E., vice president and operations director of STV’s national water team.
The team also needed to coordinate with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). TCEQ requires ground storage tanks at distribution pump stations, which act as a hydraulic buffer between the station and water supply distribution system to prevent low-pressure events. The Walnut Hill Pump Station was designed without the tank due to site constraints.
The firm partnered with DWU to install temporary pressure sensors that collect system performance data, which was used in our hydraulic model to validate the performance of the station. Additional pressure data was collected after construction to demonstrate the station’s performance to TCEQ who accepted the pump station in December 2023.
“We’re proud of this recognition from ACEC TX,” said Swaroop Puchalapalli, P.E., manager of the Dallas water group at STV. “The upgraded station enhances DWU’s vital water services for residents and businesses, providing an energy efficient and sustainable design for the city.”
All images by Ken Vaughan