Seeking to meet mandated cuts for the discharge of nutrients into the nation’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, a Maryland wastewater treatment plant and its design, construction and technology team are using what they say is the world’s largest application of a pollutant-reduction technology as part of a $138.7-million facility upgrade. Team officials at the Patapsco wastewater treatment plant in Baltimore say use of the “fixed-film denitrification system” for tertiary treatment at the facility will reduce nitrogen and phosphorous discharges into the Patapsco River by 83% and 85%, respectively. The waterway is a key tributary of the bay, now on
The Hong Kong Water Supplies Dept. has awarded AECOM a $55-million design and construction services contract to reconstruct and upgrade the Sha Tin Water Treatment Works, one of Asia’s largest water treatment plants. Sha Tin consists of two treatment trains. AECOM will oversee the expansion of the South Works to 145 million gallons per day from 95 mgd. The North Works has a capacity of 232 mgd but is not being upgraded. The overall capacity of the two plants will increase to 377 mgd from 327 mgd. Sha Tin provides water to two million people. AECOM will provide detailed design
For the second time in six months, an unexpected intrusion of water and mud has stalled the $447-million construction of a third water intake at Lake Mead near Hoover Dam in southern Nevada. The problem could delay project completion at the drought-ravaged lake by a year and increase costs by “tens of millions,” says a project official. Photo: Courtesy of SNWA Water intake construction project at Lake Mead could face delays and higher costs because of unexpected water and mud 600 ft below ground. + Image The new intake is intended to draw water deeper from the dwindling lake that
By starting work in late November on a $200-million upgrade of its central transmission system, Vancouver is making its first significant investment in the city’s power grid in 30 years. The project includes construction of an oversized three-story substation to meet future capacity needs and a tunnel beneath one of the city’s major waterways. Photo: Courtesy of BC Hydro Upgraded distribution center will take some capacity from three older stations. Marcel Reghelini, BC Hydro senior project manager, says the work is happening in Mount Pleasant, a fast-growing neighborhood no longer adequately served by three aging substations. “We’re putting in a
The lead engineer examining the feasibility of a 900-MW dam in northeastern British Columbia says the proposal holds enormous promise for additional power generation for the province. The Site C Dam would be the third dam along the Peace River. + Image Source: BC Hydro The third impoundment on northeastern British Columbia’s Peace River would provide 900 MW of electricity, but cause a significant loss of habitat, opponents claim. According to John Nunn, technical project director of Vancouver-based engineering consultant Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd., the provincial government is not putting pressure on his company to validate the government’s decision to
The economy-induced disparity between needs and resources continues to plague most of the nation’s water and wastewater utility owners, leaving them little choice but to focus on maintaining the infrastructure they already have rather than investing in new and expanded facilities. “We are seeing a marketplace under extreme financial pressure,” observes Blair M. Lavoie, senior vice president and director of U.S. operations for MWH Constructors Inc., Broomfield, Colo. “Many cities have seen 30% to 40% of their revenue stream evaporate.” For example, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), which serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California, is cutting
For the first time, secondary treatment of wastewater in Victoria, British Columbia, could become a reality. Image: Courtesy of Victoria’s Capital Regional District. The city’s new plant, rendered above, rejects the premise that secondary wastewater treatment is unnecessary because the water turbulence in the Juan de Fuca Strait dilutes discharged effluent. The minister of environment for the province of British Columbia approved the Capital Regional District’s (CRD) Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan in August. Andy Orr, communications manager for the district, says a request for proposals on a new $738-million wastewater treatment facility will go out this fall. Construction
Aurora, Colo., took a big step to avoid becoming a dry city with the fall completion of Prairie Waters, a $653-million pump, pipeline and purification project. Photo: Courtesy of Aurora Water Crews install four-ft-long UV lamps, specially designed quartz sleeves and electrical components into the generators. UV disinfection is a key component of the multiple-step water purification process. During the drought of 2002, Aurora, a suburb at the eastern edge of Denver, saw its reservoirs plummet to 26% of capacity, a critically low level the city is unlikely to suffer again, even in future dry spells, thanks to the $1.1-billion,
Large dam upgrades in North America are squeezing every megawatt out of the grid as efficiently as possible by converting century-old powerhouses and replacing decades-old turbines. Construction is under way at several sites, from Pennsylvania to British Columbia. Earlier this month, PPL Montana began upgrading its Rainbow Dam, a 36-megawatt dam on the Missouri River, six miles northeast of Great Falls, Mont., where 200 workers are under the direction of Chicago’s Walsh Construction. Photo: Courtesy BC Hydro British Columbian utility will boost generating capacity at W.A.C. Bennett Dam by phasing in five replacement turbine units by 2017. PPL Montana says
King County, Wash., will begin removal of a stuck tunnel-boring machine inside the Brightwater Treatment Plant conveyance system, near Seattle, later this month. Replacement joint-venture contractor Jay Dee/Coluccio will spend $4 million to freeze the ground around the TBM’s cutter head, then cut apart and remove the machine by spring 2011.
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