Serving professionals in engineering, environmental,
and groundwater geology since 1957

JANUARY MEETING NOTICE
***Wednesday, January 22, 2014***

We hope you will join us for the AEG Southern California Section's first meeting of 2014, to be held at Victorio's Ristorante in North Hollywood on Wednesday, January 22nd. The January meeting has been moved to later in the month to accommodate our speaker's travel schedule. We are privileged to have Dr. Jeff Keaton, C.E.G., PE., Principal Engineering Geologist at AMEC in Los Angeles, presenting on seismic enhancements in the LADWP's Elizabeth Tunnel, where the Los Angeles Aqueduct crosses the San Andreas Fault zone. The geology observed along a surface reconnaissance of the tunnel alignment as compared to as-built conditions in the tunnel will also be discussed in the presentation.

Topic: "Seismic Enhancements for Delivering Water to the City of Los Angeles across the San Andreas Fault in the Elizabeth Tunnel"
Speaker: Dr. Jeff Keaton, C.E.G., PE., Principal Engineering Geologist, AMEC, Los Angeles
Location: Victorio's Ristorante
10901 Victory Blvd.
North Hollywood
(818) 762- 9000
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 22, 2014
5:45pm - Social Hour
6:45pm - Dinner
7:45pm - Program
Cost: $30 per person with reservations in advance for AEG members, $35 Non-Members and AEG members without reservations (at the door), $15 for students with a valid student ID.
RSVP: Please email Edmond Lee at: edmond@geoconceptsinc.com
or call (818) 994-8895 ext.103.
Please make reservations by e-mail prior to 3p.m., Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Abstract
Seismic Enhancements for Delivering Water to the City of Los Angeles across the San Andreas Fault in the Elizabeth Tunnel

Michelle Sutherland1, C.E.G., Jeffrey R. Keaton2, F.ASCE, D.GE, ENV SP,
Christopher Heron3, C.E.G., and Nagamuthu Kuganenthira4, Ph.D., P.E., G.E.

(1) Project Engineering Geologist, michelle.sutherland@amec.com
(2) Principal Engineering Geologist, jeff.keaton@amec.com
AMEC Americas, 6001 Rickenbacker Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90040

(3) Engineering Geologist, Christopher.Heron@WATER.LADWP.com
(4) Geotechnical Engineer, Nagamuthu.Kuganenthira@ladwp.com
City of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power,
111 North Hope Street, Room 1368, Los Angeles, CA 90012

The original Los Angeles Aqueduct crosses the San Andreas Fault in the Elizabeth Tunnel, driven in 1907 to 1911 through eight km of granitic and gneissic rock using timber sets and concrete lining. The second Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1970, crosses the fault utilizing the same tunnel. Viable earthquake damage mitigation alternatives pose significant challenges and none have been implemented. In 2012, the City of Los Angeles undertook engineering studies for installing a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe inside the existing tunnel with the objective of improved likelihood for delivering water after an earthquake on the San Andreas Fault. The pipe is intended to survive a modest displacement or tunnel roof collapse. Construction records indicate moderate rock quality within the San Andreas Fault; poor rock quality was logged south of the fault zone below a "crushed granitic rock" unit mapped by the California Geological Survey. A narrow linear valley marks the recently active fault trace. HDPE pipe sections must be installed incrementally during brief periods of aqueduct system shutdown. The initial pipe section will be placed across the fault zone; subsequent pipe sections will extend the enhancement through the poor rock quality zone, and ultimately to the upstream portal which would allow pumping for pressurized flow. These seismic enhancements could improve the likelihood that at least some water is delivered to LA's nearly 4 million people who receive water that passes through the Elizabeth Tunnel.