Lake Mead Intake Hydraulic Tunnel Case Study - Webuild & UTS Online Session

An in-depth case study from the organisation behind the world's longest subaqueous tunnel

This engaging 90-minute virtual classroom presentation provides a comprehensive description of The Lake Mead Intake Hydraulic Tunnel, a major international tunnelling project conducted in the heart of the United States, just outside Las Vegas.

The Intake No. 3 project, designed to protect water supplies to the gambling metropolis during drought conditions lasting nearly a decade, was completed in 2015 by the Webuild Group with the construction of a hydraulic tunnel over four km (2.4 miles) long, dug 200 meters (656 feet) below the lake.

After completing the excavation work and being subjected to a pressure of up to 15 bar (compared to an average of one to three bar), the TMB machine joined up perfectly with the vertical shaft built to pump water to Las Vegas. This project was a key milestone in the tunnelling sector, and saw TBM machines - relatively unusual at the time - become much better-known.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn from a leading practitioner in the field, and to share questions and discussions on the topic with our industry expert and their fellow attendees.

Who should join, and what will you learn?

This session is designed for professional civil or mechanical engineers or recent engineering graduates interested in professional development with an interest in working on large-scale engineering and tunnelling projects in future. It's assumed that you will have some background in civil or mechanical engineering, but no specific experience in tunnelling projects.

After participating in this session, you will be able to share and discuss a summary of the Lake Mead case study - the context and importance of the project, the key challenges and factors involved, and the technology and engineering solutions applied to meet these challenges.

Lead Facilitator: Roberto Bono

Roberto Bono is the Underground TBM Senior Expert in Webuild Group. He has over 25 years of international experience in tunnelling work, including 15 years in water conveyance tunnels. He received his Mining Engineering degree in Politecnico of Turin, Italy and his experience ranges from soft ground Slurry TBM, EPB shields and Hard Rock TBMs in very dense urban areas to traditional drill and blast excavation, including deep shafts, and mechanized tunnel excavations. Key projects include water tunnels, transit and rail tunnels, and hydroelectric facilities. 

About UTS and Webuild

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Webuild are excited to collaborate on new short course programs in 2020 and 2021.

As part of our COVID-19 physical distancing strategy we are running online small-group short courses to provide informative and engaging professional education opportunities to an audience of attendees practicing physical distancing and remote working.

This event is a one of two stand-alone introduction sessions being run in 2020, ahead of fully-online and in-person intensive two-day courses to be run in 2021.

Webuild is a global construction player specialized in building large works and complex infrastructure for the sustainable mobility, hydroelectric energy, water, green buildings and tunnelling sectors. 

In Australia, Webuild is developing Snowy 2.0, the biggest hydropower project in the country. It is nearing the completion of the Forrestfield-Airport Link, a light rail transit system that will connect the eastern suburbs of Perth with the business district. In Sydney, it built the award-winning skytrain bridge for Sydney Metro Northwest. 
www.webuildgroup.com