Deer Creek Reservoir Intake Project

This project is for the Provo River Water Users Association (PRWUA). The Association maintains and operates supplemental water supplies for irrigation of farmlands in Utah and domestic water supply for communities in Utah County and Salt Lake Valley. It is crucial that the infrastructure remain reliable to meet these needs. This project reconstructs a critical piece of infrastructure at the Deer Creek Dam to meet the Association’s water deliveries. The Deer Creek Reservoir supplies water to over 1.5 million people along the Wasatch Front in Utah.

The project will remove an existing intake at the base of Deer Creek Dam and construct a new three-level tower in its place. The Association wanted to explore how to best construct this new intake tower given the risks related with construction near and on the toe of a dam. An additional challenge presented was the operational needs during construction. Water deliveries and power generation need to be maintained while the new intake tower is constructed.

Using a team of independent SMEs the CVS Team Leader was able to guide the team through the Value Process to build a mutual understanding of the projects unique requirements.  Through team discussions, it was determined that water coming out of the Deer Creek Reservoir has some of the highest water quality in the region, in fact, the water quality has exceeded expectations over the past 80 years. This insight changed the way the team focused on the project and created new, innovative solutions the design team had not considered. In addition to cost savings on design, the team was comprised of a Constructability SME.  Through the Value Process the team and Constructability SME were able to provide key observations of the project construction including contractor access, construction approach, laydown and staging, and construction sequencing.

The Association was very complementary of the Value Process and how it gave them more confidence in their project and construction methods going forward. The team developed alternatives that meet the functional requirements of the project and provide value improvement potential. The team proposed over $20 million in first cost savings to the Association.