Estimation of Water Pipe Installation Construction Costs

Abstract

With the nation currently experiencing record droughts and water shortages in the western and southwestern states, the importation of water via large-diameter pipe transmission systems from distant more reliable sources is becoming a viable option. As drought conditions worsen, engineers and water planners will need efficient cost models to plan and design these large water transmission systems. To address these challenges, a Water pipe installation COnstruction CoST Estimation model (WaterCOSTE) has been developed to estimate the installed pricing for various pipe materials and diameters under a wide range of bury and embedment conditions. The WaterCOSTE model uses a bottom-up pricing approach commonly used by contractors to estimate installed pricing for high-density polyethylene (HDPE), PVC, ductile iron, and steel water pipe. WaterCOSTE is used to estimate installed pricing for a potential large-scale real-world water transmission project in northeastern Arizona. Pipe material cost and pressure class are found to be significant cost factors, followed by embedment type, soil type, and bury depth. A cost comparison based on pressure class was performed for the candidate materials.