Case Studies
PICA has the technology, expertise, and knowledge to serve each customer’s unique needs. Explore recent case studies to see how the PICA team works with customers to provide the right information to enable utility owners to make confident decisions about how to rehabilitate their pipelines in a cost-effective manner. To see more case studies, you can search by pipe type, technology used on the project, location of the project, or by the year of project completion.
Mid-west City, Serving A Population Of 156,607
February 25, 2023
PICA partnered with a Mid-west city in February 2023 to conduct an inspection of 4.8 miles of 54-inch
embedded cylinder PCCP and 1.9 miles of lined cylinder PCCP. Near Field Testing (NFT) for wire breaks
was conducted on both pipelines. Remote Field Testing (RFT) was also conducted on portions of the 54-
inch pipeline with thicker cylinder and along the entire length of the 48-inch pipeline.
Arizona Indian Community
December 25, 2022
In December 2022, an inspection team of PICA and Simpson Gumpertz and Heger (SGH) conducted an
inspection of 8.5 miles of 78-inch and 84-inch embedded cylinder PCCP owned by the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation. PICA deployed Near Field Testing (NFT) technology along the entire 8.5-mile length and
Remote Field Testing (RFT) technology on one mile of pipeline.
Michigan Water Authority serving population of 3.8 million
August 13, 2022
On August 13, 2022, at 4:30 a.m., a 120-inch PCCP water transmission main from Lake Huron
experienced a significant failure. Using Near Field Testing (NFT) electromagnetics, the PICA team
conducted an emergency inspection of 1.5 miles of the pipeline and delivered the inspection results
while the line was still out of service.
Southern California Water District
October 25, 2021
In 2017 and 2021, PICA inspected a total of 8 miles of 36-inch diameter CMLC steel pipe and C303 bar-
wrapped (concrete cylinder) pipe on a Southern California Water District’s Aqueduct #1 and Aqueduct
#2 pipelines using Remote Field Testing technology and PICA’s unique deflatable tool platform that
allows insertion and extraction of tool components through 18-inch diameter access openings.
Nebraska City With Population Of 486,051
August 23, 2021
Using the See Snake Remote Field Testing (RFT) tool, PICA inspected approximately 3,300 feet of 12-inch
ductile iron pipe (DIP) to determine whether numerous breaks over a 15-year time span were indicative
of the poor condition of the entire line or if the problem areas were localized to specific areas of the
water main.
California City Of 135,000 Population
March 23, 2021
PICA performed an inspection of a sewer force main using free-swimming leak detection, external
electromagnetic scanning, and ultrasonic thickness testing, where appropriate, on approximately 5,900
feet of 8-inch PVC, 12-inch PVC, and 8-inch ductile iron pipe (DIP).