Case Study: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California improves pump line isolation and maintenance flexibility with Victaulic

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California improves pump-line isolation across 5 facilities with Victaulic

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California faced a significant operational challenge at its Julian Hinds Pumping Station, where maintenance on any single pump required shutting down an entire delivery line and taking three pumps offline, severely impacting water flow. Partnering with Victaulic and contractor J.F. Shea Construction, the customer needed a solution that could be installed during an extremely short annual shutdown window for the Colorado River Aqueduct.

Victaulic provided a solution using Style W77 AGS Flexible Couplings and Style 230 Non-Restrained Flexible Couplings to install bulkheads, allowing a single discharge line to be isolated for maintenance without taking the entire delivery line out of service. This enabled the pumping station to continue operating two-thirds of its capacity during repairs. The Victaulic products were easily installed on the existing 72-inch pipelines, accommodated for thermal movement, and met the tight construction schedule. This solution was so successful that it was also implemented at the customer's four other pumping plants to ensure interchangeability and system-wide reliability.

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California