AMERICAN and Partners Install Boltless Restrained Underwater Pipeline System in Ashland, Wisconsin

Beneath the waters of Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin, about 4,500 feet of 24-inch AMERICAN Flex-Ring Ductile Iron Pipe and a submerged timber crib intake structure were installed to ensure the city’s residents have quality drinking water for the next 100 years. The Ashland Water Intake Project began May 1, 2025, and is now complete.

“A new water intake was built for the city of Ashland,” said Roen Salvage Project Engineer Jack Hansen. Roen Salvage Company was the prime contractor for the project, performing marine construction work starting at the shoreline and going into Lake Superior. “The project started with some water treatment plant upgrades… In addition, we installed about 4,500 feet of pipe running from the shoreline at the low-lift station out into Lake Superior, where we installed a new crib intake structure that will provide drinking water to the city.”

Benefits of the Ashland Water Intake Project include better water quality, and improved water treatment plant maintenance and operations as the new line extends further into the bay. AMERICAN Flow Control provided Series 2500 24-inch resilient wedge gate valves to connect the new line to the city’s existing water treatment plant. 

Michels Marine performed all the diving and underwater pipeline installation for the project, and the distribution partner, First Waterworks, a division of First Supply, supplied water main materials. Engineers were TYLin and Greeley & Hansen. “We’ve done many of these underwater pipelines with Roen Salvage,” said Michels Marine Dive Operations Manager Tommy Gouin. “Everybody knows everybody else’s job, and it’s a safe operation. At Michel’s, our culture is safety.”

Ashland’s existing water intake was built in 1891 and originally drew water 4,000 feet offshore. In 1922, the intake was accidentally cut 1,950 feet offshore by a ship anchoring in the bay during a storm. Now that the new line is complete, the existing intake will serve as a secondary or backup line.

“It’s amazing to be part of a project in the community you grew up in and to know the city will have a much better water supply,” said First Waterworks Regional Manager Chris Mirwald. “It’s a unique project; we don’t do this kind of work every day. Being on a barge and installing pipe in Lake Superior where I swam as a kid, it’s interesting.”

The pipeline being used to deliver raw water from Lake Superior to Ashland’s water treatment plant is a boltless restrained joint underwater system, according to AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe Senior Sales Engineer Chris Glassing. “The way this pipeline was designed eliminates any underwater bolting,” he explained. “Preassembly of pipe sections occurred on the barge deck. Once the pipe was placed in the water, it was locked into place using a vacuum assembly method called Hydro-Pull. This patented process ensures the joints are sealed.

“One thing I like about AMERICAN’s approach to a project is we don’t simply look at the plans and specifications. We sit down with the contractors and talk to them about their concerns and provide solutions. That’s what we did on this project. We selected the AMERICAN Flex-Ring joint, coupled with the AMERICAN Flex-Lok, which provides a completely boltless restrained joint system, so the divers would not have to bolt the joints under water.”  

Before the pipe was installed under water, sections of pipe were assembled on the barge deck. Roen Salvage started with one 20-foot pipe joint, then two joints (40-foot segments) and then three pipe joints (60-foot segments). The pipe joints were pulled together on the barge deck using a series of come-along rachet systems, and then lifted and placed in the excavated trench at the lake bed. Once the divers had the pipe assembly in the right position, the Hydro-Pull was activated to connect the joint.

“This is the nicest pipe I’ve ever worked with,” said Michels Marine Dive Superintendent Paul VanGroll. “When we Hydro-Pull it under water, we know when the joint seats itself. You can hear it, you can feel it and you can manipulate it in elevation. It’s great pipe.”

Crews from Roen Salvage worked 24 hours a day to prepare and then install the pipe with a goal of installing 120 feet each day. This process began when crews excavated and trenched the installation area under water and then placed a 12-inch bedding of crushed rock. Once the pipe was placed in the water, more crushed rock was placed through the springline and over the top of the pipe, and then a rock shield was added. The turbidity of the water was constantly monitored throughout this process.

“This project was bid over a year ago,” said Hansen. “We’ve had great support from AMERICAN and First Waterworks. They provided assistance throughout the project as well as checked in to make sure things were going smoothly. Michels cares about safety and delivering a good product on time. It’s been a great team project. When you have a project this big and this complex – installing about a mile of pipe under water in depths of up to 30 feet – the only way you can really succeed is to have a good, strong team.”

Ashland is home to about 8,000 people, and the city’s water distribution system consists of about 54 miles of pipe. The Ashland Water Intake Project was funded through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, Army Corps of Engineers and the city of Ashland.