American Society of Civil Engineers-Rio Grande Valley
2019 Civil Engineer of the Year
Randall C. Winston PE., President of SWG Engineering LLC., was recognized and awarded the 2019 Civil Engineer of the Year Award on behalf of his 34 years of leadership in the public works industry. Mr. Winston has devoted his life to helping the Rio Grande Valley and beyond improve their quality of life and sustainability within their communities by providing innovative solutions with every design.
Among Mr. Winston’s most recent accomplishments is the recent award by the City of Weslaco as Design Engineers for a $4.7 Million dollar drainage project. This issue was identified during the recently completed Drainage Master Plan and made part of the 2019 bond projects, both prompted by the 2018-100 year storm event and the 2019-500 year storm event.
American Society of Civil Engineers – Rio Grande Valley 2019 Innovative Project of the Year
Canal to Pipeline Conversion of Canal A-20
Primary Leads: Mr. Randall C. Winston P.E. & Mr. Isaac Huacuja, EIT., CFM
The Delta Lake Irrigation District canal to pipeline conversion project is an ongoing project, which has been in development for almost two years, and has an estimated construction timeline of two additional years. A grant from the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) of $1 Million dollars was procured by SWG to aid in the cost of construction of this important project.
The project will convert approximately 28,000 linear feet (~5.3 miles) of deteriorated canal into a modern pipeline system. This pipeline will contain flowmeters at strategic points to monitor water flow, and has sluice gates and line gate calves at specific locations to isolate pipeline sections as necessary. Additionally, the main diesel pump station will be deleted and has been designed to be replaced as a state-of-the-art pump station, with VFD-controlled twin electric pumps, which will enable the deletion of 5 total diesel pump stations in the system. The flow meters will also connect to this master pump station, and the entire systems will be capable of being monitored and controlled remotely.
The deletion of the diesel pump station will significantly lower operation and maintenance costs to the District, while eliminating any contamination from them. Additionally, and the primary reason why the BOR funded the project, the canal conversion to pipeline project is anticipated to save approximately 2,050 acre-feet of water, being 668 million gallons, per year.
The Associated General Contractors of America – Rio Grande Valley 2019 Engineering Firm of the Year
SWG Engineering LLC is a local civil engineering firm native to Weslaco, Texas, established in 1945. It was recently recognized by the AGC as Engineering Firm of the Year, an honor for the Firm and its staff. Since its inception, SWG has strived to serve local communities in many different capacities, ranging from funding procurement assistance, to design and development of projects, to construction management. Now with locations in both Weslaco, Texas and McAllen, Texas, SWG continues to provide and apply innovative and cost-effective strategies to every project.
SWG strives to be more than an Engineer to our clients. We strive to be trusted partners and consultants.