Courtesy of Northwest Pipe Co.

The $150-million project enclosed a 21-mile-long, century-old, open-channel canal in Utah.

2012 Award of Merit

Civil Works/Infrastructure Category

Provo Reservoir Canal Enclosure

North Central Utah

This project fully enclosed a century-old, open-channel canal, known locally as the Murdock Canal, within a 126-in.-dia steel pipeline. The canal snakes its way along the eastern bench of northern Utah County, just south of the Salt Lake Valley. It has been delivering water since 1911.

The 21-mile-long project enhances public safety and will help to meet the growing water needs of the Wasatch Front. The new pipeline pulls water from the Provo River at the Murdock Diversion and can carry up to 550 cu ft of water a second, or 400 million gallons a day.

Enclosing the canal will save an estimated 8,000 acre ft of water a year and increase flows in tributaries of the Provo River. It also helps preserve several of the area's endangered fish species.

Key Players

Owner: Provo River Water Users Association & Bureau of Reclamation, Pleasant Grove, Utah

General Contractor: Ames Construction, West Valley City, Utah

Civil Engineer: CH2M HILL, Sacramento, Calif.

Structural & MEP Engineer: CH2M HILL, Salt Lake City

Submitted by Northwest Pipe Co.