Each year, the Impact Awards recognize exceptional projects featuring high-performance coating and lining materials from Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine. In June 2023, the company announced its winners for the 2022 calendar year.
Top honors in the 2022 Sherwin-Williams Impact Award program went to a project relining a half-century-old penstock at the Don Pedro Dam in Northern California. The project’s goal is to double the lifespan of this critical piece of infrastructure, which contributes to the production of clean energy.
This winning project featured a brave crew of applicators and engineers from coating and specialty contractor F.D. Thomas. Facing difficult conditions, lead containment needs and steep inclines, the crew relined the 16.5-foot-diameter (5.0 m) penstock—with some portions installed at a 53-degree angle. The Don Pedro dam, power plant, and reservoir are owned and operated by the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts. Bay Area Coating Consultants, Inc. provided inspection services.
The runner-up project for the 2022 awards went to a collaborative project between two public water and wastewater utilities installing a mile-long water main through a tunnel bored under the Ben Sawyer Intracoastal Waterway in South Carolina’s low country.
Conducted by Mount Pleasant Waterworks, Charleston Water System, and others, the project fortified and added redundancy, pressure and quality to the water network of a coastal area with a growing population. More than 5,000 linear feet (1,524 m) of steel pipe coated with cross-linked layers of a fusion-bonded epoxy and abrasion resistant overcoat was inserted underground at a maximum depth of 90 feet (27.4 m) under a marshy wetland.
MCIP Industrial Enterprises Corp. coated the pipe, with Quality Enterprises USA, Inc. performing the installation under engineering supervision provided by Hussey Gay Bell.
Finally, the 2022 honorable mention project offered insight into how water tank interiors can be recoated to comply with new national potable water standards.
Looking to extend the life of the Norma Marshall Reservoir—a nearly 40-year-old, 4.8-million-gallon (18.2 million L) aboveground steel reservoir—Rancho California Water District officials in southern California opted for a 100% solids epoxy system to replace existing polyurethane- and epoxy-based linings. Industrial and maintenance services provider Advanced Industrial Services, Inc. performed the lining restoration.
“We are proud to showcase these exceptional projects that help ensure access to clean water and the safe disposal of wastewater,” says Paul Trautmann, marketing director for water and wastewater at Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine. “These awards exemplify how such projects demonstrate the significant efforts and unwavering commitment of our teams across the United States. Their creativity and dedication—and their productive relationships with contractors, specifiers, and asset owners—help improve public safety and extend the lifespan of infrastructure every day and for years to come.”
According to the company, the Impact Awards program recognizes application contractors, specifiers, and owners for excellence on North American water and wastewater projects that have a compelling effect on the industry with regard to public safety, asset protection, and infrastructure lifecycle improvement. Eligible projects included any water-related structure that was new, restored and/or rehabilitated in 2021 and was completed using coating and lining materials from Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine.
A panel of esteemed experts from the water industry independently selected the winners for the 2022 Impact Awards. The judges evaluated entries based on various factors, including the complexity of the project; the obstacles surmounted by the participants; the solutions presented to the owner; the level of satisfaction achieved by all parties involved; and the project’s overall uniqueness.
More details about each of the winning projects can be read here.
Source: Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine, industrial.sherwin-williams.com.