Ocotillo Water Reclamation Facility
McCarthy and Sundt Construction Inc., were the joint venture general contractor for the Ocotillo Water Reclamation Facility (OWRF) expansion and process Improvement projects for the city of Chandler, Ariz.. The project, named ENR Southwest Best Project of the Year (Water/Environment), included new construction and upgrades to the existing plant.
The OWRF expansion project included upgrades to the existing 10-mgd wastewater treatment plant and the construction of an expansion facility that was built for a future capacity of 30-mgd. The new facility utilizes membrane bioreactor technology (MBR), the combination of activated sludge treatment together with a separation of the biological sludge by micro- or ultra-filtration membranes. The technology allows for a smaller footprint and reduced sludge production.
For years, the 10-mgd OWRF plant has been considered an innovator because it recycles all its treated water. The water is placed in storage lakes, recharged to the aquifer, sent to an industrial user or sent to an adjacent Native American community for agricultural use.
The design and construction were done with the intention of allowing for ease and lower cost efficiency for future capacity and expansion.
Innovative weekly updated drone videos were used during weekly progress meetings to help visualize construction progress. This gave the team an opportunity to coordinate discussions and decision making quickly by having the drone video information right there on a 65-inch screen at the meeting.
The team developed a community outreach plan that included development of a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) consisting of key stakeholders from the nearby commercial, industrial and residential neighbors. We facilitated several informational meetings with the CAP early in the conceptual design phase, educating them on the need for the city to increase its treatment and reuse capacity closer to its end users by expanding the OWRF.