MEADE CREEK HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING PIPELINE PROJECT 

Sheridan County, Wyoming

Sheridan Field Office

The Mead-Coffeen Horizontal Directional Drilling project is located in section 8, township 53 north, range 83 west at Story, Wyoming. The purpose of the project is to convey Mead-Coffeen Canal irrigation water from an inlet elevation of 5052.0 to an outlet elevation of 4887.0 within a horizontal distance of 680 feet thus eliminating an eroding head cut and reducing downstream sediment transport in the irrigation canal. The sediments that have deposited downstream in the canal have caused problems for downstream irrigators. Sediments from this head cut can wear out nozzles on sprinkler systems, build up behind irrigation turnouts, settle out in irrigation pipelines, and clog field ditches.  In the past water was transferred from the canal through a tunnel that had been lined with a Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP). The pipe lined tunnel has been failing for several years, from the outlet end, creating a head cut within this reach of the irrigation canal.  The alternative selected was to replace the failing Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP) lined tunnel with a 22" diameter High Density Polyethylene Pipe (HDPE) pipeline. This HDPE pipeline is installed immediately east of the existing inlet. The proposed pipeline will carry 40 cfs.  The inlet structure to the pipeline consists of a new 21.0 cubic yard box inlet structure with a fabricated trash rack.  Construction began in November, 2007.
 

Photographs Prior to Construction

Old Inlet Structure	22" HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)	22" HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) Pipe	Vemeer Horizontal Drilling Rig
Existing Outlet/ Headcut	22" HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) Pipe	Initial Setup at Proposed Inlet	New Drilling Stem
22" (High Density Polyethylene) HDPE Pipe	Reaming Bit	Reaming Bits	Pipeline Route Looking Towards Outlet

Photographs During Construction

Drill Head for Pilot Hole	Drill Rig Setup at New Inlet Location	Pumping Setup	Drilling Machine in Operation
Drilling Machine Control Panel	Beginning of Boring the Pilot Hole	Bentonite Mix	New Drill Stem Inserted into Drilling Machine
Sensor Initialization	Drilling Sensor	Sensor Screen	Instrument Sensor at Current Boring Location Near Inlet
Small Reamer Bit Exit at Outlet	Transmitting Sensor Installed	Drill Stem on Drill Rig	New Drill Stem Being Loaded
Water Delivery System for Bentonite Mix	Drilling Machine	Loading drill stem	Large Reaming Bit Attached at Outlet
Large Reaming Bit Expelling Drilling Fluid	Large Reaming Bit Pulled Back at Inlet	Fusion Machine	Pipe Joint Loaded into Fusion Machine
Pipe Joint Fusion	Pipe Joint Fusion	Pipe Joint Fusion	Pipe Joint Fusion
Pipe Joint Fusion	Multiple Pipe Joints Fused Together	Pipe Joint Fusion	Pipe Joint Fusion
Pipe End Cap Fused for Pullback	Floor & Footing Steel of Inlet Structure	Concrete Pour for Floor and Footing	Floor & Footing Steel of Inlet Structure
Floor & Footing Steel of Inlet Structure	Inlet Structure Steel and Forms	Inlet Structure Steel and Forms	Inlet Structure Steel and Forms
Inlet Structure Steel and Forms	Inlet Structure Steel and Forms	Inlet Structure Steel and Forms	Concrete Pumper
Concrete Mix Discharge	Concrete Mix Discharge	Concrete Testing	Concrete Testing
Concrete Testing	Concrete Pumper	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure
Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure
Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure	Concrete Pumped Into Inlet Structure
Completed Concrete Pour Into Inlet Structure Forms	Completed Concrete Pour Into Inlet Structure Forms	Fabricated Trash Rack	Inlet Structure
Inlet Structure	Inlet Structure	Inlet Structure	Inlet Structure
Outlet Structure	Outlet Structure