Geosynthetics August/September 2019 - 11

Part 4 | Case Study

Reviving the Palos
Verdes Reservoir
By John Heap and Chris Kelsey

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

T

PALOS VERDES RESERVOIR
COVER AND LINER

he active site work for the Palos Verdes Reservoir's substantial update
began in late 2016, advanced primarily throughout 2018 and concluded
in the second quarter of 2019 with the filling of the reservoir. The project was
immense for everyone involved, and with that has come the expected excitement, challenges and revisions. Though weather and site soils do not always
cooperate, as this project proves, hard work, a strong focus on communication
and effective planning can overcome most of the challenges presented by sites
with a large footprint and complex structures.

OWNER

Metropolitan Water District
of Southern California
LOCATION

Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR

OHL USA

Project and series background
The Palos Verdes Reservoir in Los Angeles County boasts an impressive service
life. The original construction was completed in 1939. Over the years, the site
has played an important role in the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of
Southern California's potable water network.
The avocado-shaped cell, with its 83-foot (25.3-m) tall dam and a crest
length of 2,150 feet (655.3 m), was identified as having plenty of life left in
it; but, to achieve a significant service life extension-essentially giving the
facility a new life-substantial reconditioning was required to bring it on level
with the engineering and performance strategies used at the county's newer
facilities. Major changes to the reservoir included revitalizing the subgrade,
reducing the operating volume from 1,000 to 614 acre-feet (326 million gallons
[1.2 billion liters] to 200 million gallons [757 million liters]), and installing
new geosynthetic lining and floating cover systems (Figure 1).
In Part 1 of this article series, we described the site parameters, design
concerns, and how geosynthetic manufacturing and fabrication planning were
utilized to keep the project moving toward its objectives.
Part 2 documented the full fabrication stage, site staging of materials and
installation planning for a more rapid execution in the wake of a site subgrade
preparation delay.
Part 3 focused on the facility as it neared recommissioning of its full operation.

DESIGN ENGINEER

CDM Smith
DESIGN ENGINEER,
LINER AND COVER

Doug Hilts, Hilts and Associates
GEOMEMBRANE (LINER)

60-mil (1.5-mm), 5-ply CSPE,
Burke Industries
GEOMEMBRANE (COVER)

45-mil (1.1-mm), 3-ply CSPE,
Burke Industries
GEOCOMPOSITE

Transnet 300-2-10,
SKAPS Industries

John Heap is the director of
business development for
Raven Engineered Films.
Chris Kelsey is the content creation
specialist for Geosynthetica.
All photographs courtesy of Raven Engineered Films.

www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com

11


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Geosynthetics August/September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics August/September 2019

Geosynthetics August/September 2019 - Cover1
Geosynthetics August/September 2019 - Cover2
Geosynthetics August/September 2019 - 1
Geosynthetics August/September 2019 - 2
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