To ensure the long-term safety and efficiency of Texas’ water supply, engineers turned to one of the most extr

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To ensure the long-term safety and efficiency of Texas’ water supply, engineers turned to one of the most extreme components ever installed in municipal infrastructure: a DN2800 (108-inch) gate valve with metal-seated parallel faces, specifically designed to resist the erosion and wear caused by high-speed water flow over decades. Unlike rubber-sealed valves, this metal-seated version remains tight under both low and high pressure and can endure harsh chemical treatments often required in urban water systems.

Because of its massive size and weight — 117 tons — each valve had to be transported using custom trailers and lowered into position using synchronized cranes in coordination with tunnel boring operations. The valve includes redundant actuator ports, ensuring operability even if one hydraulic line fails. Its interior is coated with fusion-bonded epoxy to resist bacterial growth and corrosion. Additionally, the valve was tested to simulate over 36,000 open-close cycles—a benchmark representing over a century of use.

Its installation is part of a broader engineering movement to build “intergenerational infrastructure”, meaning systems that don’t just last decades—they last lifetimes.

,WaterEngineering ,ValveTechnology ,InfrastructureInnovation ,HydraulicSystems ,EngineeringMarvel

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