El Paso County Water Improvement District (EPCWID) is a Public Irrigation District in El Paso County Texas. The EPCWID provides irrigation water for 69,000 acres in a 156-square-mile area in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. EPCWID has over 350 Miles of Canals in the distribution system and 270 miles of canals in the drainage system. With over 2,200 turn-outs, EPCWID greatly aids in the irrigation of crops in the surrounding farmlands, helping in the production of cotton, alfalfa, wheat, milo, pecans, and green chile to name a few.
The lengthy and frequently intertwined canals normally have access roads on each slope of the canal. However, the Redd Road Canal terminated at a fork with another canal and required an additional access road crossing over the canal. EPCWID selected a 96-inch diameter DuroMaxx® steel reinforced polyethylene (SRPE) structure to carry the canal 300 linear feet under the access road.
Originally, EPCWID had considered a few different pipe material solutions. Ultimately, they determined that a DuroMaxx solution would be the best option in the higher alkaline waters. The pipe was installed with over 17-feet of cover over the crown. With concerns about high loading, long-term durability and the larger diameter requirements, DuroMaxx was the right choice.
The jobsite staging area and construction area was a 20-foot wide access road. As DuroMaxx is light weight even in larger diameters, longer pipe sections were still possible. This increased the speed and ease of installation with longer lengths and fewer joints. Contech also provided a pre-construction meeting to support the installers and made multiple onsite visits to consult on the installation, guaranteeing a successful project.
EPCWID Maintenance Engineer, Pete Rodriquez, commented, "The DuroMaxx installed quickly, and it was easy to handle. Contech provide assistance and advice with the install during the entire project."