The project received the American Council of Engineering Companies Texas Engineering Excellence Awards Gold Medal in 2017. It also won a National Recognition Award for Engineering Excellence from ACEC.
The Borger Northwest Wellfield project is notable for adapting oil drilling technology to surgically drill groundwater production wells in the drought-stricken Texas Panhandle. This technique resulted in the discovery of 6.5 million gallons per day (mgd) of potable drinking water.
This additional water supply project clinched a $720 million industrial facility expansion for Borger, came in under budget, exceeded expected production levels by 1.5 mgd and was the largest infrastructure project in Borger’s history. Its standpipe was, at the time, the second tallest in the USA, and is still the tallest of this type in Texas.
The project included seven wells with a total production capacity of approximately 6.5 million gallons per day; six miles of 12-inch to 36-inch collection pipeline; a 5 mgd booster pump station; two 1 million-gallon ground storage tanks; a hybrid standpipe; and an approximately 15-mile transmission pipeline ranging in diameter from 16 to 24 inches.
“Borger was long, almost 14 miles of transmission line, not including an extra line that went to Carbon Black – and then the standpipe,” Parkhill Engineer Kimberly LaBree said. She modeled and placed the air valves, helped with the specs and some of the design. “You need air valves every so often, because if for some reason a pump shuts off or someone slams a valve, the negative pressures can cause the pipes to collapse.”
The Borger Northwest Well Field projects were designed to produce an initial firm capacity of 5 MGD of potable water with a future capacity of 10 MGD. Hydrogeology proved challenging in the well field but design prevailed in locating high producing and good quality water wells.
Parkhill used hydraulic modeling for the air valves rather than slide rule calculations because of the 14-mile length of the Borger pipeline. With hydraulic modeling, the air release valve ended up costing almost a third less. Parkhill designed all components of the project with our own staff, including hydraulic analysis, structural, electrical, SCADA, architectural and civil work.
“This is one project I've been proud of from the very start." - Former Mayor Robert Vinyard of Borger, Texas