The Lake Gaston Pipeline meets the water needs of the City of Virginia Beach in a very big way

More than 40 miles of the pipeline followed a wide and well-elevated right-of-way formerly used for a railroad line. It was possible for the highly trained and organized John D. Stephens Inc. crew to install as many as 70 sections of PCCP a day under these ideal conditions. View more photos

The City of Virginia Beach, which is the largest and one of the fastest growing cities in Virginia, has a sufficient and reliable source of fresh water for the first time since the city was incorporated in 1963.

The new pipeline -- 60 inches in diameter and 76 miles long -- was completed in 1998 to provide up to 60 million gallons of fresh water each day from Lake Gaston, a large man-made lake more than 100 miles west of Virginia Beach where the Roanoke River crosses the Virginia-North Carolina boundary.

At the pipeline's eastern outlet, the water flows into a series of large reservoirs owned and operated by the City of Norfolk. In 1993, the cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk agreed to work together to make this complex water project serve their mutual economic interests.

By using Norfolk's vast reservoir system to carry the water part of the way (see map below), pipeline construction costs were reduced by about $32 million according to Tom Leahy, Pipeline Project Manager for the City of Virginia Beach.

Norfolk also invested about $100 million to expand its Moores Bridges Water Treatment Plant to treat the Lake Gaston water before pumping it into the existing distribution pipeline system for Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

"Construction of the pipeline has gone extremely well," says Tom Leahy. "We couldn't be any happier about the performance of our various suppliers and contractors. We're especially pleased with the pipe delivered by Price Brothers and the efficient installation of that pipe by our contractors."

Construction contracts for the 76 miles of pipeline were awarded in 1995 to John D. Stephens, Inc., Rockdale Pipeline, and Garney Companies, Inc. Pressure valve stations at two points along the pipeline were built by Mid-Eastern Builders to control internal water pressure and surges with varying volumes of water flowing through the pipe.

The majority of the pipeline's right-of-way was along the path of a large power line and a former railroad line which helped avoid many problems. The design called for 3 to 3-1/2 feet of cover, primarily using excavated material as bedding and backfill.

By selecting Price Brothers prestressed concrete cylinder pipe, contractors took full advantage of its built-in strength and minimized the trouble and added expense of bringing in special bedding material or doing extensive compaction. At times, the Rockdale and Garney crews were forced to move more slowly through wet and often hilly terrain, and the use of PCCP saved considerable installation time and trouble.

All three pipeline contractors worked ahead of schedule and did a very professional job. Price Brothers went all out to deliver the pipe when and where it was needed. Our plant in Perryman kept ahead of project demand by producing almost a mile of pipe every week.

With the completion of this impressive project at hand, Tom Leahy and all the public officials and citizens of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake should take pride in their achievement. For many decades to come, they will enjoy the benefits of a reliable, high-quality water supply.