Growth Boom in Cumberland: AMERICAN Pipe, Valves Installed in Cobb County’s Biggest Pipeline Upgrade in Decades

Cobb-Marietta Water Authority, AMERICAN Flow Control, AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe, Resilient Wedge Gate Valve
The Highway 41 project involved the replacement of a 20-inch steel water main that was installed in the 1940s with 36-inch, 42-inch and 54-inch AMERICAN ductile iron pipe.

This article also appeared in Water Online and is featured in the September 2017 issue of OpFlow.

Cobb County, Georgia’s Cumberland area has changed dramatically over the last 30 years. What used to be a predominantly suburban office market is now a community with desirable housing, abundant entertainment, a booming business climate and the new home to the Atlanta Braves.

With economic development comes the need for a quality and reliable water supply. This led to the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority’s Highway 41 project, which supplies additional water from the Wyckoff Water Treatment Plant through central Cobb County to the Cumberland area. Work began in the late 1980s, and all four phases of the project are now complete.

The final phase, Highway 41 Phase Four – Pipeline and Tunnel, involved the replacement of a 20-inch steel water main that was installed in the 1940s with 36-inch, 42-inch and 54-inch AMERICAN ductile iron pipe. Also included in Phase Four is the construction of an 84-inch tunnel that will accommodate a future grade-separated interchange at Highway 41 and Windy Hill Road. Estimated cost of Phase Four is $22 million.

“This area is anticipating 30 percent growth over the next 20 years,” said Ken Janney, project manager with Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority. “This project completes the most significant pipeline the Water Authority has constructed since the original loop around the county was built in the 1960s and 1970s. It provides all of our customers a much higher level of system reliability through increased capacity and redundancy.”

“AMERICAN provided great service and assistance with a range of products. From specialty gaskets to extra items, they did a wonderful job of acting quickly to make sure our project continued forward.” – Ruby-Collins President Scott Cline

AMERICAN provided approximately 16,000 feet of ductile iron pipe in sizes 6 to 54 inches for the project. In addition, AMERICAN Flow Control provided five resilient wedge gate valves in sizes 36 to 54 inches in diameter. Ductile iron pipe was specified for this project because of the depth of bury and proximity to a major highway, according to Ruby-Collins President Scott Cline. The water main also runs under parking areas and is adjacent to buildings, so routine access to the 36-inch main will be limited by parking and traffic in the area.

“As always, AMERICAN produced a quality product for this project,” said Cline. “AMERICAN provided great service and assistance with a range of products. From specialty gaskets to extra items, they did a wonderful job of acting quickly to make sure our project continued forward.”

Project planning began in 2007, bidding in 2014, and completion earlier this year. The general contractor is Ruby-Collins, Inc. in Smyrna, Georgia, with Steve Ovsak serving as project superintendent. Atkins North America, Inc., is the design engineer and construction manager.

“AMERICAN has always been helpful in providing technical information regarding its ductile iron pipe and valves,” said Atkins Project Director Gil Puffer, PE. “AMERICAN provided project review regarding the application of its products and was a valued vendor on this project.”