Achen-Gardner employee-owners had a rewarding and engaging experience at the 98th Annual AZ Water Conference on April 14-17 at the Phoenix Convention Center. We were a Silver Sponsor, led two technical presentations, and won a Project of the Year Award. We had a great time connecting with clients, designers, engineers, and other friends in the industry. We kept things lively at our booth, No. 900. There were fun games, awesome swag, prizes such as a DJI Flip drone, and a wealth of useful information.
Project Of the Year Award
We are proud to have received the Wastewater System Project of the Year award for our City of Phoenix PVC-Lined Concrete Sewer Pipe and Manhole Rehabilitation - North CMAR project. We rehabilitated more than 17,000 LF of pipe, and 36 manholes were either rehabilitated or constructed. There were 20 sewer bypass operations, including a double containment system crossing the Central Arizona Project canal at the Cave Creek Bridge. These bypass systems managed flows up to 49.5 MGD. Some rehabilitation segments were located in high-traffic arterial streets and busy intersections.
This project also recently won the 2025 Build Arizona Award from the Arizona Chapter Associated General Contractors. Dan and his colleagues NAMES accepted the AZ Water award on Wednesday evening at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Congratulations to this highly skilled project team!
Trenchless Pipeline installation Experts
Several employee-owners presented technical sessions. They demonstrated expertise in these areas, showing clients and partners that Achen-Gardner is the award-winning local leader in trenchless rehabilitation methods. If you or your organization would like more information about our pipeline rehabilitation services, contact Dan Broderick at dbroderick@achen.com.
Ultraviolet Cured-in-Place-Pipe
Dan Broderick and Tino Tarango, Project Manager, presented “The Benefits of Ultraviolet Light: A Sustainable Alternative to Heat-Cured Pipeline Rehabilitation” on Wednesday, April 16. This presentation discussed the benefits of UV CIPP technology as an alternative to heat-cured pipe lining. They presented case studies from recent municipal applications and benefits such as a reduced carbon footprint, improved capacity, risk mitigation, and less community disruption.
Check out the highlights:
We partner with Reline America. More than 3.7 million LF of their Alphaliner has been installed in the U.S. since 2006.
Pipelines can range from 6” to 72” when using UV CIPP materials.
The strong reinforcement of UV curing allows for a thin 10.5 mm liner, which means that pipes maintain their maximum capacity.
This process produces excellent chemical resistance and tight porosity.
UV curing produces low to no airborne oder, no post-curing discharge, and less noise in comparison to heat curing.
This process has a smaller work footprint and requires less equipment than felt (heat-cured) lining.
Pipe Bursting
Ken Kawamoto, Pre-Construction and Client Services Manager, and Abi Goode, Project Manager, presented “Pipe Bursting: Is it the Right Tool for Your Project?” on Tuesday, April 15. They discussed the four different pipe bursting methodologies, which involve pulling or pushing a new pipe through an existing pipe underground, “bursting” the existing pipe. They also presented case studies from recent municipal pipe bursting projects that included challenges such as bursting near railroad tracks, management of wastewater flows, and avoiding existing utilities.
Here are the main takeaways:
Achen-Gardner is the only mainline contractor in Arizona to use pipe bursting.
Pipe bursting began in Europe in 1975.
The four types of pipe bursting are static, lateral, pneumatic, and gas line slitting.
We use static pipe bursting, which pulls a new pipe through the existing, or “host” pipe.
This trenchless method of installation reduces noise, traffic impact, and dust pollution.
Pipe bursting can reduce excavation by up to 85%.