Inner Basin Waterline repair project complete after wildfire damage

The City of Flagstaff and the Coconino National Forest's Flagstaff Ranger District are proud to announce the substantial completion of the Inner Basin Waterline repair project. The project repaired an important water pipeline that delivers two to four million gallons of water per day to Flagstaff that was damaged by post-wildfire flooding from the 2022 Pipeline Fire.

The project began in July of 2023 and was funded by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management at a cost of $16.1M. The 13-mile-long Inner Basin Waterline is a critical piece of the City's water supply portfolio that delivers water from sources located in the San Francisco Peaks to the Flagstaff area. Repair work addressed 45 locations along the pipeline that were damaged from flooding, as well as repairing and armoring the nearby access road to avoid future degradation. Project partners included the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, the Coconino National Forest's Flagstaff Ranger District, Hunter Contracting and Jacobs Engineering.

David Pedersen, City of Flagstaff Project Manager said "Hunter Contracting and the City's project partners faced every challenge with a 'can do/get it safely done' attitude and cultivated creative solutions when faced with working in a complex mountain environment."

While construction for this season will wrap up in October, several project sites will require additional work during next field season after the snowpack melts. This project will be fully completed by Fall of 2025. For related questions, please contact David Pedersen at [email protected].

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