Woodard & Curran Project in Ellsworth Wins ACEC Maine Grand Conceptor Engineering Excellence Award
Portland, Maine (PRWEB) November 12, 2013 -- Woodard & Curran has won the 2014 Grand Conceptor Engineering Excellence Award from the Maine chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies. The firm received the award for its work with the City of Ellsworth to plan, design, and oversee construction of the new Bayside Road wastewater treatment facility and its associated systems.
The City’s previous treatment plant was built in 1978, and it was operating at its maximum licensed capacity. Located on a tidal section of the Union River and close to downtown, the older facility’s outdated technology and equipment required continuous repair and replacement. Odor control was a persistent issue, and stormwater inflow and infiltration in the sewer collection system during wet weather events caused overflows to the Union River. To meet these challenges and future growth demands, the City of Ellsworth engaged Woodard & Curran to explore alternatives and design and build a new wastewater treatment facility, effluent outfall, access road, and main pumping station.
Woodard & Curran worked closely with City officials and plant staff to identify options for building at the existing site or at a new location. Ultimately, the City decided to move operations out of downtown Ellsworth.
High effluent quality, improved aesthetics, environmental benefit, ease of operation, and flexibility in process control to accommodate current and future flows and loads were key considerations in the design of the new wastewater treatment facility. State-of-the-art technology, such as an effluent water source heat pump system specifically designed to use treated wastewater as a source of energy for heating and cooling of facility buildings, was selected to reduce costs and create more efficient operations.
To take advantage of existing infrastructure, a new main pumping station was designed and built at the old treatment facility site to transport flow to the new facility. A portion of this new system was placed in a below-grade external precast concrete structure to significantly reduce the project’s construction cost and the size of the station building. Woodard & Curran led the efforts to demolish the old facility and restore the site, which is part of the City’s overall economic development goal to enhance quality-of-life in the downtown.
“Ellsworth’s decision to invest in building at the new location creates an exciting opportunity to expand the adjacent waterfront park and marina at the old site,” notes Brent Bridges, a Senior Vice President and manager of this project for Woodard & Curran in Portland. “The Bayside Road campus provides space for process improvements, solves significant issues for neighbors, and enables economic growth and a sustainable future for the City.”
Woodard & Curran assisted in securing funding for the project through a combination of Community Development Block Grants, Rural Development grants and loans, State of Maine grants and loans, and federal subsidies. Forty percent of the project’s total cost was covered by state and federal grants. Penta Corporation served as the construction general contractor.
The Grand Conceptor, the highest award given annually by the state chapters of the American Council of Engineering Companies, is presented to an engineering firm for a project that exemplifies “quality, innovation, value, and client satisfaction.”
Woodard & Curran is an integrated engineering, science, and operations company serving public and private clients locally and nationwide.
Althea Masterson, Woodard & Curran, http://www.woodardcurran.com, 8004264262, [email protected]
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