CHAPTER 4

Personal involvement in Engineering Design

4.0 Project Feasibility.

The purpose a pipeline design is to supply water at an adequate pressure and

flow. However pressure is lost in the distribution system. This is due to the
demand, pipe and fittings materials, pipe length, sizes and gradient. A proper
design guarantees the end-users with an acceptable flow and a pressure of at
least 1.0 bar which is the case at the CWA. Therefore a feasibility study is
foremost required for a proper design and project viability.

I was involved in several design/feasibility exercises among which ‘’Contract

C2013-33-Renewal of Service Main from St Hubert to St Hilaire and adjoining
laterals” was the most exciting as there was an inherent topography and
preferential demand dilemma.

4.1 Contract C2013-33- Renewal of Service Main from St Hubert to St

Hilaire

Several complaints were received concerning frequent pipe bursts and

irregular water supply in the region of St Hubert and St Hilaire. On some
occasions there were even public outcry. Being a major work, Ops Section
sent the request to the P&D where a feasibility study was required before
implementation.

4.1.1 Project Brief.

A project brief is required so as to put everybody in the picture. After some

desk studies and field surveys, I came up with the project brief which was as
follows:
The service main from St Hubert to St Hilaire is a 150mm AC pipeline (2100m).
Nearly all of the connected laterals are also made up of AC pipelines (2300m)
and long communication pipes. The source of water is Cluny Borehole.

Water supply to these regions is erratic due to the following:

4.1.2 Frequent Burst

1.0 The AC pipe is aging.

2.0 Valve Operation.

3.0 Absence/defective Air valves that add stress on the pipeline.

4.1.3 Actual Network Configuration.

The source of water is Cluny borehole. Presently the existing 150mm AC

service main along St Hubert Rd is fed by a 300 DI. The 150 AC is tapped on
the 300 DI, It initially passes through Cent Gaulettes Village and then to St
Hilaire and finally to St Hubert. As for the 300 DI, It branches to feed Riche En
Eau (REE) reservoir while another branch supply water to the South East
Coast up to the village of Bambous Virieux. Besides the regions of Grand Bel
Air, Ville Noire, Petit Bel Air and Riviere des Creoles depend on Riche En Eau
Reservoir.

At the time of writing a firm of consultants are designing a new reservoir on the
Old Cluny site where water from Cluny Borehole will be transit before
supplying the South East System.

4.1.4 Topography.

Cluny Borehole is found at an elevation of 275m AMSL. The amount of water

injected in the concerned system is some 10000 m3/d which becomes
insufficient at peak demand when considering leakages. The water gravitates
to St Hilaire (150m) then St Hubert (140m) and afterwards it has to feed the
region of Rich En Eau (125m), Ferney (20m), the South East Coast (10m) and
also higher parts of Grand Port and BambouS Virieux Regions (40m).

Hence there exist different pressure zones which cause preferential

distribution which do not favour St Hubert and St Hilaire at all.

Therefore to manage this imbroglio, a series of valve operation is being

undertaken which is unfortunately detrimental to old pipes.

4.1.5 Recent upgrading works.

No system exists on its own. It always bears the consequence of others or

affects others.

The recent works undertaken under Contract C2010/09 – Improvement of

Water Supply to the South East Coast has catered for numerous leaks in the
system. Poor and badly maintained pipelines, which are the case of the St
Hubert – St Hilaire pipeline, has suffered collateral damages as a result of
these upgrading.

Therefore to provide for a reliable water supply to the regions of St Hubert and
St Hilaire, the CWA will be undertaking C2013-33 - RENEWAL OF SERVICE
MAIN FROM ST HUBERT TO ST HILAIRE AND ADJOINING LATERALS,

4.1.6 Project Scope.

1.0 The laying of a new service main (2000m) from St Hilaire to St Hubert
to cater for the pipe bursts and for future demands.
2.0 The existing laterals will be replaced by 100mm DI dia. pipes (3200m)
3.0 Pipe appurtenances (Valves/Zone valves, Pressure Sustaining Valve,
meters/ Air Valves, Wash Outs .etc. will be fixed for proper maintenance
as well as monitoring.
4.0 Some 400 Household connections
5.0 Reinstatement works on both RDA and District Council Roads.
FIGURE 4 – SOUTH E AST NETWORK WITH PROJECT AREA

275m 150m 10m

Old Cluny 40 m Kenya

Reservoir Village

140m

20m

125m

LEGEND

Note:

The daily volume delivered have

been obtained from Ops Section. It
can be observed that these readings
are erratic as they do not reflect a
water balance.
4.2 Hydraulic Design

The aim of the hydraulic design is to come up with a pipe of suitable size. The
factors and design parameters that have been taken into consideration are:

 Pipe material
 Water Demand
 Pressure
 Velocity
 Hydraulic gradient.

4.2.1 Pipe Material

The two main pipe materials being used at the CWA are High Density
Polyethylene (HDPE) and Ductile Iron (DI). Recently there have been some
issues regarding HDPE pipes.

Consequently, CWA has decided that all its service mains of diameter 100mm
and above shall be in Ductile Iron (DI) which shall conform with BS EN 545.
HDPE pipe is only used for smaller sizes and more particularly for household
connections.

4.2.2 Water Demand

Water demand in the project area can be calculated by 2 methods:

 Population Census
 Water Sales.

I have preferred to use the values obtained from water sales since after
scrutiny the exact number of households can be obtained compared to the
figures in the population census where there is no clear cut demarcation from
one region to another.
4.2.3 Water Sales.

The CWA pipe networks consist of several District Metered Areas (DMA). A
DMA is a defined area within a distribution system where the amount of water
entering, used and leaving are metered. These are located at the entrance of
major distribution system and are fitted with bulk meters. Therefore it is
possible to obtain the number of consumers as well as the volume that is being
billed, hence used.

I sent a request to the Information and Technology (I.T) section and they
forward me a list of the consumers within DMA 321020.

DMA 321020 consists of 1101 consumers of Rose-Belle, Mare-Chicose, St

Hubert, St-Hilaire, Riche En eau and Grand Bel Air.

TABLE 4 - NO OF ACCOUNTS PER VILLAGES IN DMA 321020

DMA 321020 Dec-12 1 HH=5 P

Village No of Vol/m3 Vol/m3 m3 per per Capita

HH
Meters Monthly Daily /day Litres/day
Rose Belle 36 716 23.10 0.6 128

Mare Chicose 58 1285 41.45 0.7 143

St Hubert 342 7231 233.26 0.7 136

St Hilaire 246 5200 167.74 0.7 136

Rich En Eau 98 4660 150.32 1.5 307

Grand Bel Air 13 220 7.10 0.5 109

Summation 793 19312 644

St Hubert and St Hilaire are adjacent villages. From the above table it is difficult
to delineate consumers in the actual project area. Therefore I had to resolve
to other means to find the number of consumers.

An extract of CWA I.T consumer list is given at Annex 1 for DMA 321020

After some site visits for reconnaissance and meeting with meter readers. This
was very helpful as the meter readers their water bill delivery according to a
pattern which has a walk code. This walk code greatly enabled me to filter the
exact amount of consumers within the project area only under the DMA.

TABLE 4.1 - NO OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE PROJECT WITHIN DMA 321020

DMA PERIOD WALK LOCATION NO OF

CODE ACCOUNTS

321020 201212 W320402 St Hubert - Middle 126

W320505 St Hubert - Royal Rd 138

W320607 St Hubert – Lower 155

including St Hilaire

Total no. of Accounts 419

4.2.4 Water Demand.

Assuming that there are 5 people per household and daily water consumption
is 200 liters per capita.

The daily demand for the project area is,

419 x 5 x 200 lt. = 419 m3/d.

It is worth noting that 1 m3 of water is being assigned daily to each household.

Apart from the daily demand the following parameters should be considered:
4.2.5 Design Life.

When designing a pipeline, the latter should have a design life. As time goes
by, it must still sustain adequate water supply to the end users. I was instructed
to design the pipeline for a design life of 40 yrs. i.e. up to Year 2053

4.2.6 Population Projection

The population projection is rather tricky, it may expand, shrinks or stays more
or less the same. Considering the worst case scenario, the population is
expected to expand as per a growth rate given by the Central Statistical
Bureau.(CSO)

Projected population is calculated as follows:

Pn = P0 (1+r/100)n

Where: Pn = Projected Demand

P0 = Present Demand
r = Rate of growth expressed as a percentage
n = Number of years

TABLE 4.2- GROWTH RATE AS PER CSO 2013

Year 2013 2018 2023 2028 2033 2038 2043 2048

2018 2023 2028 2033 2038 2043 2048 2053

Growth
0.08 -0.02 -0.17 -0.35 -0.58 -0.79 -0.95 -1.07
Rate (%)

Based on the above projected growth rates I carried up an exercise to work

out the projected population in the project area. The results are given below.
TABLE 4.3- POPULATION PROJECTION FOR PROJECT AREA

WALK ACC. Population Projected Population Based on CSO Growth Rates

CODE
2013 2018 2023 2028 2033 2038 2043 2048 2053

W320402 126 126 127 126 125 123 120 115 110 104
W320505 138 138 139 138 137 135 131 126 120 114
W320607 155 155 156 155 154 151 147 141 135 128

419 419 421

From Table 4.3, the population is seen to be decreasing with time. For my
design, the worst case, which is the population for Year 2018 is being
considered.

The projected average daily domestic demand found to be 421 m3/d.

4.2.7 Non-Domestic Demand

Non-domestic uses may include commercial, religious, government and

temporary fountains.

From the given I.T customers list, I found that non-domestic usage accounts
for 15% of the total number of accounts. This was added as a parameter to
cater for the growth in non-domestic usage.

QAverage day, the daily average demand is thus adjusted and rounded to 500
m3/d.

4.2.8 Real Losses

Now, throughout time, the pipe as well as its accessories will be at the mercy
of constant wear and tear and certain volume of water will be lost. At the CWA,
these losses are termed as Non Revenue Water (NRW). Actually the NRW at
the CWA is 55% which is not a glittering value. This of course entails several
other losses such as apparent losses and water pilferage.
For my design assignment, an NRW figure of 30% is being used following
discussion with my superiors.

To account for NRW the following leakage factor is used:

𝐿
100 − 𝐿

Where L is leakage percentage of the total quantity supplied in the system.

4.2.9 Peak Factor

The daily water demand within an area varies during the year. This may be
due to climate changes and other factors such as religious activities when we
consider our pluri-cultural Mauritius. The daily demand is usually estimated by
adding 10-30 % to the average demand. Therefore, a peak factor for the daily
demand (K1) is 1.1-1.3.

Also, hourly variation is observed during the day. There are 2 peak periods
which are also rush hours. One in the morning and the other one late in the
afternoon. The peak hour demand can be expressed as the average hourly
demand multiplied by the hourly peak factor (K2). K2 depends on the size of
the project area. A smaller community has a higher value because of sudden
simultaneous demand. The range for K2 is 1.5-2.5.

A new pipeline is designed to cater for the maximum hourly demand.

This peak demand = Average hourly demand x K1 x K2

4.3 Water Demand

It is common to assume that,

Demand = consumption + leakage

Inclusive of their respective peak and leakage factors.

Using,

Daily Peak factor, K1 = 1.2

Hourly Peak Factor, K2 = 2.0

% Leakage NRW = 30

Therefore,

1.0 Applying Peaking Factor

QAverage day = 500 m3/d

= 500,000 l/d

QPeak day = 1.2 x 500,000 = 600,000 l/d

QAverage hour on Peak day = 600,000 / 24 = 25,000 l/h

QPeak hour = 2.0 x 25,000 l/h = 50,000 l/h

= 13.88 l/s

Also,

2.0 Applying Leakage Component to Peak hour Flow

30
With 25 % NRW = ( 100−30) x 13.88

= 5.94 l/s

3.0 Combining both factors,

Design Flow, or Demand

QDesign = (13.88 + 5.94) = 19.82 l/s

Say, = 20 l/s
4.4 Initial Sizing.

Flow rate, QDesign = 20 l/s = 0.02 m3/s

According to BS EN 805:2000, the mean velocity of flow in the pipeline should lie
between 0.5 m/s to 2.0 m/s.

Adopting a Velocity, V = 1.5 m/s

Continuity Equation, Q = AV

Q
Hence, A =
V

𝜋𝑑2 Q
=
4 V

4Q
Pipe diameter, d =
V

4 x0.02
=
1.5 x

Say d, Pipe Diameter = 130 mm

Next available diameter, d = 150mm.

Working backwards with Pipe of dia. 150mm to check for allowing velocity.

4𝑄
V =
𝜋𝑑2

4𝑥0.02
=
𝜋𝑥0.152

= 1.132 m/s between (0.5-1.5m/s) ok

Up to now, it has been found that a pipe of 150mm diameter will be able to
discharge a demand of 0.02m3/s.

However during pipe flow, frictional losses, HL has to be overcome.

4.4.1 Frictional Losses, HL

This is calculated from Darcy-Weisbach Equation,

𝑓𝐿𝑉 2
HL =
2𝑔𝑑

Where

f = Friction factor Calculated by Colebrook White Equation

L = Length of pipe to be laid (m) = 2000m

V = Velocity in m/s

g = Gravitational acceleration = 9.81 m/s2

d = Diameter of PE pipe.

HL = Friction losses in pipe (m)

f ,friction factor Calculated by Colebrook White Equation:

1 1 𝑘 2.51
= −2𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( + )
√𝑓 √𝑓 3.7 𝑑 𝑅𝑒√𝑓

Where,

f = Friction Factor

k = Coefficient of roughness of pipe (0.1mm from PAM St-Gobain)

Re = Reynolds Number
Reynolds Number, Re, determines the flow regime and the method to calculate the
friction factor, f

𝜌𝑉𝑑
Re =
µ

Where,

μ = Viscosity of water (1.0 × 10 -3 kg/ms at 200 c)

d = Diameter of the pipe (m)

V = Velocity (m/s)

ρ = Density of water (Kg/m3)

𝜌𝑉𝑑
Re =
µ

1000𝑥1.132𝑥0.15
=
1.0 × 10 −3

= 169,800 > 4000

So we are in the turbulent regime, hence proceed with finding friction factor, f
using the Colebrook White Equation which is an iterative method.

Friction factor, f = 0.01989

To obtain friction factor, f quicker, I made use of the Moody Chart before using the
Colebrook White Equation.

𝑘
When using the Moody Chart the value, , the relative roughness is
𝑑
0.1
required, which = = 0.00067
150

I also used the Moody Chart Solver from the Web to verify the value of, f.
Having obtained the Friction factor, f=0.0199, the Darcy-Weisbach Equation is
used find the

𝑓𝐿𝑉 2
HL =
2𝑔𝑑

0.01989𝑥2000𝑥(1.132)2
=
2𝑥9.81𝑥0.15

= 17.32 m

4.4.2 Residual Pressure from selected pipe diameter.

Recap:

L = Length of pipeline = 2000 m

d = Diameter of the pipe = 150mm

V = Velocity = 1.132 m/s

The selected pipe diameter needs to check if it is able deliver the required
demand.

The project area is being fed by the Cluny 300 DI pipe at St Hilaire.

The same connection point will be maintained and I checked and found that
the pressure there was 2.5 b. Actually this is achieved by valve throttling if not
there will be a pressure and flow drop due to preferential discharge. For this
particular project, I decided to fix a Pressure Sustaining Valve (PSV) so as to
maintain upstream pressure without valve throttling.

St Hilaire is the lowest point in the project area. The end of the pipeline is at
St Hubert at an elevation of 148m.
Using Bernouilli’s Principle, the residual relative pressure at St Hubert is
calculated as follows:

The project area is schematically shown below:

Ch 2000 End of Line - St Hubert

z2 148 m
P2/ƥg ??

Connection Pt
Ch 0 St Hillaire
z1 140 m
P1/ƥg 2.5 bar
25 m

( P1/ƥg + V12/2g + Z1) = ( P2/ƥg + V22/2g + Z2 + hL)

V1 = V2 Cancels out

HL = 17.32 m

P1/ƥg + Z1 = P2/ƥg + Z2 + HL

25 + 140 = P2/ƥg + 148 + 17.32

P2/ƥg = -0.32 m

From the above simple Excel sheet, the pressure at St Hubert is found to be

0.3 bar. (1 bar = 10 m)

This is insufficient pressure, hence I moved to the next common pipe diameter
of 200mm.

I repeated the whole design procedure with a 200mm pipe and the pressure
at St Hubert is found to be 1.3 bar, which is acceptable.
I have also used the Head Loss tables of PAM, St Gobain to verify the
pressure. The Head Loss table is obtained from the pipe manufacturer. With
known flow, i.e. demand and the velocity, head loss can be read directly from
the table, hence helps from the pain of going through complicated formulas for
a first guess.

Annex 2 gives the manual calculation for pipe sizing as well as the readings
from Moody Chart and Head Loss Tables.

Lastly the design was checked using WaterCAD software. This will be
illustrated in depth in the Chapter for Analytical Tools.

4.4 Hydraulic Gradient.

The Hydraulic Grade Line (HGL) represents the energy of the water. The
pressure (P/ρg) at any particular point is the difference between the HGL and
the centre line of the pipe laid itself. In most cases the pipe is laid following the
topographic profile to minimise excavation with a cover of 900mm.

However, as water moves in the pipeline, it loses energy due to frictional

losses and the HGL inclines. Care should be taken so that the HGL does not
cross the pipeline invert. In fact to obtain a reasonable pressure for end users,
the HGL should be some 10m above the pipe for a pressure of 1 bar.

Therefore it is always wise to plot the HGL on the terrain profile. This helps to
find the low pressure spots in the pipeline.

FIGURE 5 – PRESSURE AND HGL

I personally carried out the levelling exercise and plot the elevation profile from
ch 00 to ch 2100.

From the annexed manual calculation for a 200mm DI pipe, the head lost was
found to be 41.5m for 2000m of pipeline. As per the friction Pam Head Loss
tables, the head loss is 2.12 m/km. considering both values, I used those from
the tables to plot the HGL on the topographic graph.

The resulting pressure was satisfactory at all locations and thus, the DI Pipe
200mm is confirmed to be suitable and can be laid at a depth with minimum
cover of 900mm following the terrain profile.

The levelling exercise, HGL profiles and pressure are given at Annex 3

4.5 Longitudinal Sections. (L-S)

Having completed the levelling exercise, I sent the reduce levels to the
Drawing Office to have them plotted on A-3 sheets.

The next step is to design the pipe profile i.e the invert levels.

While designing the pipe profile, the following factors were taken into

consideration:

 Pipe has to be laid with a minimum cover of 900mm

 The minimum slope recommended for pipe is 1/500 in the rising

sections and 1/250 in the falling sections. The slope of the pipeline

was kept constant over the longest possible stretch in order to

minimize changes in slope.

4.6 Project Status.

Contract C2013-33- Renewal of Service Main from St Hubert to St Hilaire is

actually under Defects Liability Period till the xxxxxxxxxxx when Operation
Section will take over.

Before commissioning, an upstream Pressure Reducing valve became faulty

and 6 bars of pressure was read at the connection point instead of the 2.5 bars
when downstream Rich En Eau Reservoir does not take water.

The Pressure Sustaining Valve could not be activated as Operation Section

was not keen to repair their PRV thus allowing 2.5 bars for my PSV to sustain
upstream in the project area. In fact they were happy with this increase in
pressure. Despite several attempts to convince them, they remain adamant.

The inhabitants were pleased with the project and there were no more pipe
breaks. However, there has been some leakages on the individual saddle
connections. This may be related to the prevailing high and fluctuating
pressure.

In most of the cases, failures were at Brass Adaptors linking prisecocks to the
PE 20mm pipe. An alternative to this fitting will need to be used.

Moreover several meter leaks as well as ballcock failures were reported.

To verify the pressure, I requested and placed pressure loggers in the

networks. The results are at APPENDIX 1

RESULTS FROM LOGGERS

4.7 Other Designs.

Apart from Contract C2013-33- Renewal of Service Main from St Hubert to St

Hilaire, I was also involved in the design and feasibility studies of:

 Contract C2015-80 – Renewal of Service Main from Rich En Eau to

Grand Bel Air and Ville Noire.
 Verification of the carrying capacity of a PE110mm pipe used as a
bypass and to confirm the number of Households that it can sustain
under Contract C2011-34 – Renewal of Pipeline along Trou Deau
Douce Road.