Pittsburgh Water's South Side Flats Sewer Separation Project. Pittsburgh, PA.

The $14.8M project is a part of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s consent decree and entails separating the existing combined sanitary system with a standalone storm sewer system to reduce combined sewer overflows from South Side sewersheds within the City of Pittsburgh.

During the initial construction review, it was determined that a section of the storm sewer could not be installed using conventional open-cut methods due to its 35-foot depth and proximity to residential homes. Recognizing the challenges, Pittsburgh Water collaborated with WRA to explore alternative solutions to ensure both efficiency and minimal disruption to the community. The team identified micro-tunneling as the ideal method for installing this segment. This state-of-the-art trenchless technology not only enhances precision and safety but also accelerates the installation timeline, reducing the expected construction duration by two months.