The City of Melbourne and the City of Cocoa both had concerns regarding the redundancy and reliability of their water distribution systems. The City of Cocoa entered into a Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the City of Melbourne to have CHA complete permitting and design of an additional water main crossing to tie into the City of Cocoa’s water distribution system within the same Pineda Causeway corridor as the City of Melbourne’s pipeline. This partnership provided both communities with significant cost savings due to shared geotechnical investigations, land and river surveys, ecological data gathering, and impact assessment in support of permitting.
This project includes 39,800 feet of 16-inch water main with nine long, subaqueous directional drills that will cross beneath the Indian River and Banana River. The Melbourne portion of the project is comprised of 20,400 feet of pipeline with five horizontal directional drills, and the Cocoa portion of the project is comprised of 19,400 feet of pipeline with four horizontal directional drills. Pipe materials of construction will be a combination of fusible PVC, HDPE and ductile iron. The length of the directional drills and the navigable and sensitive estuarine environment the subaqueous crossings will pass beneath added complexity to the design, permitting and contractor procurement process. Once completed, this project will provide improved reliability of potable water flows, pressures and quality to residences, businesses and a Space Force Base along a 40-mile stretch of Brevard County’s barrier island.
One collaborative solution for two cities: Melbourne and Cocoa.
Combined installation of 39,800 feet of 16-inch water main.
Placed 16-inch water main beneath the Indian and Banana Rivers.
Mark Worsham, PE*
Principal Engineer
Mark has over 35 years of experience providing project and construction management for water system projects. His expertise lies in inspecting, designing, overseeing, testing, and commissioning building, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation and control systems. He is also well-versed in hydraulic and water quality modeling, groundwater withdrawal and permit applications, feasibility and rates studies, and preliminary engineering reports.