Meeting the challenge of a difficult job

Vly Creek Reservoir is a holding basin for fresh water upstream of the New Salem Water Treatment Plant constructed in 1958 to supply water to the Town of Bethlehem, NY. The reservoir is fed via pipeline from a nearby water source and has outlets at each end of the reservoir. The project involved replacing the stop log system at the outlet structures and relining the Low Level Outlet (LLO) pipe. The new stop logs and guides are aluminum and the LLO pipe was planned to be spray cement lined. Once a bulkhead was installed into the reservoir end of the LLO pipe and the outlet structure dewatered it was apparent that the LLO pipe was in very rough shape and that an HDPE liner would be more practical than spray cement. As is often the case, the Reservoir could not be drained and the new pipe would have to be installed in 40’ of water.

Projects contribution to the community

The Vly Creek Reservoir provides 3.0 million gallons per day of potable water to the town of Bethlehem, NY. With properly functioning stop logs and new pipe, the low level outlet and stop log control structure can reliably maintain the reservoir at a safe operating level with little or no operator intervention.

Sensitivity to the environmental surroundings

Pond levels during construction were required to remain between specified levels to preserve usable raw water for the treatment plant. All construction operations were performed to protect the water quality with a deep reverence for the protection of both the resident wildlife and the human consumers of the water.

Outstanding safety record

For the duration of the diving portions of the project, the dive team consistently met requirements for redundancy, supervision, communication and reporting. While working in the control vaults, confined space requirements were strict, regimented and thorough. Contact was regularly maintained with Fire and Rescue. Over the span of the 6 month project, there were zero accidents or injuries.