- Architects question the design of the water system for the new school
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
One concern with construction of the new Red Cliffs Elementary school in Nephi is the culinary water delivery system.
Juab School District Board members were told that the water flow model needed by the school construction team was not forth-coming.
Architects and contractors were asked to give a report to the Juab School District Board of Education at the meeting held on Wednesday.
Present were Norm Wall, representing the district, Gary Bruschke (AIA), Naylor Wentworth Architects; Chris Houghton, Westland Construction Vice President, and Trent Huntsman, Westland project manager.
“The pressure and flow determines the type of system designed,” said Kirk Wright, superintendent of schools.
However, he said, the city had not been willing to share with the school district the flow rates and studies the city’s engineers had collected.
“We were not allowed to look at the information used to make the water model,” said Bruschke. “It should be a matter of public record.”
He said that Randy McKnight, city administrator, was uncomfortable with the architects for construction of the new school looking over the shoulder, so to speak, of the engineer responsible for the city’s culinary water study.
Nevertheless, the information was necessary in the design of the water system for the new school.
“The pressure and flow determines the type of system we will need to be built,” Bruschke said.
He said that he understood the city was in the process of implementing a water design which would allow service to south Nephi residents located in several new subdivisions and to the school.
The construction process could be delayed, said Bruschke, if the issue is not resolved quickly. If the school district has to complete an independent study, he said, it will add a considerable amount of money to the costs.
“By February, we should have the fire suppression system ready to go,” he said. “The fire marshal, in order to approve the system, will need to see evidence that the water flow can be delivered.”
Wright was asked by board members to contact McKnight and ask specifically if he could see the necessary studies needed. If not, Wright was asked to put the board on the city agenda so that the problem can be discussed.
“I thought the city intended to design a culinary water flow system,” said Wright. “It was my understanding that they intended to lay the water line.”
“Did Randy McKnight recommit to you that the city was running the line?” asked Delanie Hathaway, board president.
The culinary system will be needed by the school in order for the fire suppression demands of the state fire marshal, who is following state code, to be met.
“By next month, we should be ready to go with the fire suppression system installation,” said Huntsman.
The construction team needs to know the flows so that the system can be approved, meet codes and be built according to specifications.
The question of a water tank which may be needed for storage capacity also needs to be addressed. Whether a tank is needed or not would depend on how long flows can be maintained and at what rate.
“The tank alone is valued at $200,000,” said Houghton.
Once the system is designed, it must receive approval from the state fire marshal, which also takes time.
Water distribution modeling is the latest technology used for evaluating existing water distribution systems and planning for future development.
This tool helps to identify deficient areas in a distribution system and determine appropriate improvements necessary to make the system effective. Hydraulic modeling is used to evaluate water distribution systems for their capability to meet current and future water demand needs.
To minimize casualties and financial losses, fire service agencies consider sufficient water supply for fire suppression to be the key among the many factors affecting firefighting.
A speedy resolution to the water flow numbers being made available needs to be arrived at in order for school construction to proceed according to schedule.
“If we re-engineer, we would still need to test,” said Rick Walsh, board member. “That takes time.”
Time is the one thing the district does not have if the school is to be finished by the deadline.
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