2. Portland Water Bureau
Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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Table of Contents:
Company History………………………………………………….pg. 2
Executive Summary ……………………………………………...pg. 3
List of Projects ……………………………………………………pg. 3
Main Project Descriptions..………………………………………pg. 4
Interns Role………………………………………………………..pg. 5
Conclusion…………………………………………………………pg. 6
Buzz Words………………………………………………………..pg. 7
3. Portland Water Bureau
Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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Company History
In the late 1800’s the Portland water committee established WaterWorks
because they recognized a need for a new water supply for their city.
Colonel Isaac Smith was the first engineer to requestBull Run Watershed
as the new primary water source for the city of Portland. Once Isaac
established a solution to the need for a new water source, he oversaw a
conduit installation leading from the Watershed and ending at Mt. Tabor.
This conduit was known as conduit 1 and it stretched through 24 miles of
old growth forest before it reached Mt. Tabor. It was predicted to transport
25 million gallons of water per day (MGD). Four Reservoirs needed to be
installed, two at Mt. Tabor and two at Washington Park for the distribution
of water throughout Portland, which, Isaac again oversaw. On January 2,
1895,Conduit 1 completedconstructionand allowed water flow to both
reservoirs and as a result, public health officials noted a decrease in
typhoid fever cases.
By 1925,two more conduits were installed and flowed to reservoirs 5 and 6
at Mt. Tabor because the 25 (MGD) from conduit 1 was not an adequate
amount to provide Portland with enough water. Conduit 2 and 3 combined
brought in an additional 125 (MGD). The city of Gresham was the first
wholesale consumerof PWB.After selling to the city of Gresham, water
meters were installed to every water services to keep track of consumption
and usage. A donation was given to install 4 head water fountains in the
downtown area which are still functional today.
In 1929,the first Dam was constructed and PWB first started to use
chlorine to eliminate unwanted amenities to further protectpublic health.
D.C. Henny was the consulting engineeron the Hoover Dame upon
completionof this project. Henny designed Dam 1 and the Bent Brothers
construction accepted the projectat $1.44 million. Dam 1 was completed
and had a plentiful amount of clean water which was distributed and sold
throughout the Portland area, yet in the 1930’s the depressionhit the
country hard. As a result of the depressionthousands of Portland citizens
could not pay their water bills and relied on charity or donations to stay
afloat.
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Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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Portland Water Bureau needed to replace Isaac’s conduit 1 with a new
conduit, known as conduit 4, because of efficiencyissues and leakages. In
1952 Conduit 1 was abandoned and by 1953 conduit 4 was constructed.
This new conduit provides the city with 100 (MGD.) As the city expanded
so did the need for water and by 1962 dam 2 was constructed.
Bull Run Watershed remains the main source for Portland’s water and will
be for years to come.PWB main focus is on the public health and water
quality. With the advancement of technology, PWB will continue to insure
the quality of its water.
Executive Summary
Of my projects,my time was spent mostly on: (1) Interstate Renovation
Project/ Hydrogravitram, (2) Road 10 Project, and (3) Fulton Pump Station
RemodelProject.
By participating in each of these projects I’ve acquired the knowledge and
understanding on how to perform at a professionallevel. PWB offered me
free reigns to do what interested me most. I spent some time with
operations and got myself familiar with the GIS program. I was also able to
work with the following groups: design,surveying, projectmanagement,
maintenance, administration, construction, and many more. These
opportunities and experiences are my foundation for my career in
engineering and they will guide me to my career goals.
Project List
The following is a complete list of projects that I was involved with.
1. Interstate Renovation Project
a. Reconciliationof Project
b. WeeklyMeetings
c. Inspections
5. Portland Water Bureau
Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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d. Daily Reports
e. Punch List
f. Electronic As-Builds
g. AutoCAD/Micro Station
h. Meeting Coordinator
2. Fulton Pump Station RemodelProject
a. Weekly/BiweeklyMeeting
b. Permit Revisions
c. Inspections/Documentation
3. Mt. Tabor ReservoirDiscontinuation and Piping Installation
a. Inspections
4. Hydrogravitram
a. ProjectCoordinator
b. Calculations
c. Masonry
d. Metal works
e. Planning/ Scheduling
5. Lusted Hill Ammonia Treatment Center Remodel
a. Pre-Bid/Bid Meeting
b. Pre Con/Con Meeting
6. Road 10 Project/Watershed
a. Surveying / Staking
b. Pre-Bid Meeting
c. Pre Con Meeting
d. WeeklyMeetings
e. Requests ForInformation (RFI)
f. Submittals
g. Culvert Inspections
6. Portland Water Bureau
Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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Main Project Descriptions
Interstate is a new facility built for the Portland Water Bureau. It completed
construction in May of 2016.The facility includes an operations building,
storage warehouse, meter shop, maintenance building, and a heated
vehicle storage unit; along with plentiful parking for PWB maintenance
vehicles and employee parking.
The Interstate facility is where my internship began. My first task was to
reconcile documentation for the entire Interstate Renovation Project
starting from planning and pre bids to close outs and punch lists. By
reconciling this projectI formularized myself with the terminology and
process’s that PWB practices. After completion,I moved on to some
designwork where I drew up the electric as-build for the facility. This
included identifying where telecommunicationlines are, power lines,
underground conduits and many more components that are associated with
the electrical make up for the facility.
I also decided to take on my own personal projectat IRP called the
Hydrogravitram project.For this projectI coordinated a group of individuals
to help fix up and relocate this structural decoration. The Hydrogravitram
uses a simple pump system to push water to the top of the structure where
it then flows out onto all these contraptions allowing for some spectacular
visual effects.
During my time a PWB Road 10 was my main project and it took up the
most time and efforts. Road 10 was a 3 mile rehabilitation and
reconstruction road job. We widened the road and overlaid it with 2 in of AC.
Some sections of the road needed retaining walls installed and culverts
replaced. During this projectI took part in the pre-bid and pre-con
meetings before constructionstarted. During these meeting we looked over
the specifications and determined what needed to be changed and what
was in order. Weekly constructionmeetings were held every Wednesday
once construction began. One of my job was to file submittals and RFI for
this project. I ran one weekly meeting and kept track of the meeting
minutes along with taking detailed note for Rick Lapp who was the CM for
this project. I also learned the processes ofconstructionmanagement and
the requirements needed to do a projectof this size.
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Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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Fulton Pump Station or Hannah Pump Station was another projectI
oversaw during my time at the water bureau. At Hannah I was included in
the bi-weekly meeting and was involved in the inspectionprocess.During
this projectI had the privilege to see the installation of a brand new pump
and witnessed a thrust block that was approximately 12’x 10’ x7’ be poured
and cured. The work I did for Fulton was getting a permit revision submitted
and accepted by the permit center. The permit allowed the contractor to
install new bike racks and remove existing trees.
Interns Role
Walter Lewandowski was my CECOP Mentor. He is a Senior Engineer for
the Construction Management team at PWB.He shared his knowledge with
me about construction management and provided me with many
opportunities to learn in a group setting. He made the Road 10 projectmy
main focusedbecause it allowed me to be there from the start. The role I
played for PWB was to provide help and gain as much knowledge as I
could during my time there. I worked with many differentpeople who had
many differentroles and skills at the bureau. Each person contributed to
my progress of becoming an engineer and each one provided me with
some insight as to what I wanted to pursue in the civil engineering field.
The one thing that I enjoyed mostabout working for PWB was that I
learned something new every day and had the opportunity to use what I
learned in the field. I will also take what I learned and incorporate it into my
studies back at OregonState University.
Conclusion
Working for PWB has taught me a series of different skills that will excel my
education and knowledge in the engineering field. Some of these skills I’ve
learned in schoolbut PWB allowed me to use them in a real life situations.
These skills include writing, personal communication, organization,
scheduling and so on. The skills that PWB taught me were technical skills
like knowing material properties and purposes, PWB’s terminology,GIS
and Micro Station programs,inspecting sites, critical thinking, problem
solving and much more.
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Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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I feel that PWB benefited from me because I made each experience a
learning experience formyself and for everyone around me. I brought
together all the interns so that we can get to know one another and help
each other out during our internships. I personally reconstructed an art
piece called the Hydrogravitram and put it on display for the whole PWB
staff to admire. I also was a big part of my road 10 project. I took it upon
myself to keep track of all the RFI and submittals along with the meeting
minutes for this project.Rick Lapp was the CM for Road 10 project and it
was his first ever road job. We worked togetherto make this project go as
smoothly as possible.
Buzz Words
CM-Construction Manager
HVAC- Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
SSW-Shops and Storage Warehouse
OPS- Operation’s building
MNT- Maintenance Building
Punch List- Defective Items
RFI-Requestfor Information
Subs- Submittals
IRP- Interstate Renovation Project
CCD- Construction Change Directive
AC- Asphalt Concrete
QA/QC- Quality Assurance/Quality Control
9. Portland Water Bureau
Branden Confer
09-17-2016
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BES- Bureau of Environmental Services
MGD- Million Gallons per Day
