Jersey City in New Jersey is undergoing a period of development and growth which has seen its population increase by more than 50,000 people in the last 13 years. To cater for this growth, the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority is tasked with maintaining its aging water infrastructure and improving its critical water supply to ensure it can meet the needs of its customers both now and in the future.
One way they are working to improve their infrastructure is with the installation of more than 40 AVT EZ Valves – all since 2020. These insertion valves have been installed in strategic locations to enable the city to better control its water supply and decrease system-wide service interruptions.
The valves create new isolation points or replace existing valves which have failed to operate. Some of these existing valves have been found to be nearly 150 years old.
Two parallel 20-inch cast iron transmission mains received new insertion valves to enable the authority to perform water main shutdowns to carry out system maintenance or emergency repairs with a highly reduced negative impact on customers.
Waterware has been focusing on critical infrastructure in Jersey City for more than 35 years and employs a team of water system operatives that are fully trained and certified to install the AVT EZ Valve. Their trenching support subcontractor, Persistent Construction, is one of several excavation experts tasked with providing excavation, shoring and trench restoration for the operation.
The EZ Valve is installed using a low-profile EM (End Milling) machine, which mills a 120o slot across the top of the water line that enables a resilient wedge gate to be inserted. The millings created, or swarf, is flushed out of the valve during the milling process by the pressure of the water in the pipe, meaning the quality of the water is maintained. This all takes place without the need to shut off the water and the small slot milled also ensures the integrity of the pipe is not affected.
Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority’s Assistant Chief Engineer, Tony Cunha said he and his team looked at other insertion valve options before deciding on the AVT EZ Valve.
“This system had a far lower cost of entry than some of the other options we explored,” he said. “Installation requires a much smaller footprint due to the size of the equipment and overall, the cost of the materials is lower than replacing the existing failed valve or compared to some of the other products we researched”.
More importantly, though, we have been using the equipment and the valves long enough to recognize the true extent of their value and are happy with the quality of the product. When we need to shut down, we get a tight shut with no water passing at all,” Tony added.
AVT’s VP of Global Sales, Shawn Petty said: “It’s great to see the EZ Valve playing a part in improving the infrastructure of this major city. We’re proud of the usability of our installation equipment and this is great feedback. Keeping costs down for our customers as well as creating a product that truly answers their needs is why we’re here and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority.”
