The $75 million wastewater treatment plant, constructed for the city of Chandler, is located near McQueen and Queen Creek roads and received the award in the Environment category for construction projects costing between $25 million and $75 million. The APWA presented the award to the project team at the association’s statewide conference held in Phoenix last week.
The award recognizes public infrastructure projects that exemplify excellence in management and administration, including safety performance, construction techniques, community relations and environmental stewardship.

“We’re honored that this project has been named ‘Project of the Year’ by the American Public Works Association, the oldest and largest organization of its kind in the world,” said Robert Knochenhauer, vice president and business unit leader of McCarthy’s Water Services team. “Our project team was able to stay focused on keeping the facility running throughout the entire expansion process and never once caused the plant to be out of compliance.”

The construction expanded the AWRF’s treatment capacity from 10 million gallons per day (mgd) to 15 mgd and included the installation of new treatment processes, equipment and reservoirs. In addition to increased capacity, the plant also boasts enhanced reclaimed water capabilities, which support the use of recycled/reused water for irrigation purposes.

The project team logged more than 650,000 man-hours over the 29-month-long project without a single lost time incident, a remarkable safety record.

Planning and pre-construction for the Chandler Airport Water Reclamation Facility began in March 2007 and the project was completed in November 2009.

About McCarthy
Ranked among the “Best Places to Work” by The Business Journal in Phoenix, McCarthy has helped define the Arizona landscape for more than 30 years. Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest and largest privately held construction firms in the nation. The Water Services team in the Southwest offers general contracting, construction management, program management and design-build services for wastewater and water treatment projects in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. The team also covers construction projects in the mining, solar, nuclear and fossil fuels industries. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. For more information, visit www.mccarthy.com.

“As a community-based builder, it is important for us to get involved early and work through the administrative process with the project stakeholders,” said Ryan Heeter, project director for McCarthy. “As a result, we established and built a strong relationship with the County and all other parties, which enabled us to hit the ground running.”

The expansion project calls for construction of a new, half-million gallon per day wastewater treatment plant that will serve the Indian Springs community and Creech Air Force Base (AFB).  McCarthy will also upgrade the existing facilities currently serving Indian Springs, which includes two lift stations, one on Creech AFB and one near the Indian Springs Casino. Additional work will include demolition of the existing Creech AFB water/wastewater treatment plant. In all, McCarthy will install and re-route more than four miles of piping and electrical duct banks including performing a portion of work under US 95.

This is the second water project McCarthy currently has underway in Nevada. In addition to the Indian Springs Wastewater Treatment project, McCarthy is currently constructing a $19 million wastewater treatment facility expansion in Mesquite, Nev. Upon completion in the spring 2011, the 50,000-square-foot facility expansion nearly doubles the capacity of the city’s existing plant.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has been delivering construction solutions to the water and wastewater industries in the Southwest for more than 25 years. McCarthy is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies. The firm is 100 percent employee owned.  More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

“We’re honored that this project has been named Wastewater Project of the Year by the AZ Water Association,” said Robert Knochenhauer, vice president and business unit leader of McCarthy’s Water Services team. “Working in conjunction with Wilson Engineers and the city of Chandler, our project team was able to develop dynamic, responsive solutions to the increased water demands faced by the city.”

The construction expanded the AWRF’s treatment capacity from 10 million gallons per day (mgd) to 15 mgd and included the installation of new treatment processes, equipment and reservoirs. In addition to increased capacity, the plant also boasts enhanced reclaimed water capabilities, which support the use of recycled/reused water for irrigation purposes.

The project team logged more than 650,000 man-hours over the 29-month-long project without a single lost time incident, a remarkable safety record.

“McCarthy has been a great partner on this project,” said Kim Neill, utility operations manager for the city of Chandler. “The project team came to the city’s aid when a major sewer line leading into the plant burst beneath McQueen Road last August. Even though the problem was not caused by their work, they mobilized support immediately to resolve the flooding and bring the situation under control.”

Planning and preconstruction for the Chandler Airport Water Reclamation Facility began in March 2007 and the project was completed in November 2009.

About McCarthy
Ranked among the “Best Places to Work” by The Business Journal in Phoenix, McCarthy has helped define the Arizona landscape for more than 30 years. Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest and largest privately held construction firms in the nation. The Water Services team in the Southwest offers general contracting, construction management, program management and design-build services for wastewater and water treatment projects in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. The team also covers construction projects in the mining, solar, nuclear and fossil fuels industries. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. For more information, visit www.mccarthy.com.

The plant currently serves 400,000 customers with an initial treatment capacity of 80 million gallons per day (mgd) and is expandable to an ultimate capacity of 320 mgd.

The Lake Pleasant plant was completed for the city of Phoenix by the design-build-operate (DBO) team comprised of the Black & Veatch-McCarthy joint-venture design-build team and American Water Enterprises, Inc., a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), which is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company.

Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox, who serves as the vice chair of the National League of Cities Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Steering Committee, congratulated the team on the accomplishment. “Thanks to the efforts of the partners and our city engineers, this state-of-the-art water treatment plant will serve our growing community well into the future,” said Mattox.

The new plant, which is the largest integrated DBO project in North America, was designed to blend seamlessly into the desert landscape without disturbing the natural beauty of the area. As a result, 95 percent of the habitat was preserved in its natural condition.

The plant incorporates the latest developments in modern water technology and automation, which will benefit the residents of Phoenix.  The design-build process included sustainable features that lay the groundwork for future customer growth and development, expanded capacity and emerging treatment technologies. The team also successfully focused on developing the water treatment plant with streamlined, efficient operations.

“A key to the success in achieving our goals was to combine all resources under one roof, which enabled a collaborative work environment,” said Dave Mahaffay, senior vice president and West region managing director for Black & Veatch’s global water business. “All parties involved were focused on delivering the project on time and within budget, as well as on ensuring operational excellence in safety and construction management.”

According to Bob Knochenhauer, senior vice president of operations for McCarthy’s Southwest Division Water Services Group, “The team’s collaborative approach was critical to the effective management of each phase of this complex project. It allowed for construction to start two months ahead of schedule and a budget reduction of $30 million, positioning both the team and the community for success.”

The treatment process design incorporates seven independent barriers for pathogens, virus and bacteria removal while typical treatment plant designs incorporate three to four barriers. Selected water treatment processes – such as high-rate ballasted flocculation, ozone, granular activated carbon contractors and ultraviolet – achieve superior operating and cost efficiency with numerous inventive improvements specific to residents’ needs, the local environment and available resources.

The national award was presented at the DBIA Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony held recently in Las Vegas.

About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch develops tailored infrastructure solutions that meet clients’ needs and provide sustainable benefits. Solutions are provided from the broad line of service expertise available within Black & Veatch, including conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, program management, construction management, environmental, security design and consulting, management consulting and infrastructure planning. With $3.2 billion in revenue, the employee-owned company has more than 100 offices worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six continents. The company’s Web site address is www.bv.com.

About American Water
Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in 32 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.

About McCarthy
Ranked among the “Best Places to Work” by The Business Journal in Phoenix, McCarthy has helped define the Arizona landscape for more than 30 years. Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest and largest privately held construction firms in the nation. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. For more information, visit www.mccarthy.com.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

“The sheer number of MEP tie-ins involved is staggering on this project…everything we do impacts multiple processes, making coordination the key.”
—John Pinkston, facilities superintendent, city of Chandler

A serious commitment to planning and partnering is a must as construction continues on the $75 million expansion of Chandler’s award-winning treatment facility.

When complete in summer 2009, the expanded plant will treat and recycle 15 million gallons of wastewater per day (from the current 10 million gallons per day). The expansion involves the construction of a new process building, tanks, basins, water reservoir, expanded odor control systems, piping and associated equipment—much of it tying into the existing plant’s MEP systems. McCarthy has completed or is in construction on $1 billion in water/wastewater facilities in the Phoenix area—and the Chandler plant represents the first where all process mechanical trade work will be performed by McCarthy labor forces (McCarthy has self-performed critical path trades such as concrete for decades). A critical factor in the planning involves long-lead equipment, much of which needs to be specified and ordered a year or more in advance to meet project deliveries.
Engineer: Wilson & Company, Phoenix, Ariz.