ALABAMA STATE EDITION
231
65
72 Florence
2
Huntsville
20 Decatur
72
565 59
43
A Supplement to:
231
431
31
5
Gadsden
78 59 Anniston
20
Birmingham Bessemer
82 Tuscaloosa
65 280
20 82 Auburn
80
85
Selma
Phenix City
Montgomery
82
July 22 2015
65
231
43 84 431 331
84
84 52
Vol. XXVIII • No. 15
31
45
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
Dothan
65 98
Mobile
10
Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Growing Demand Calls for $83M Water Treatment Plant By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT
Located on a 266-acre site, the new $83.5 million Greenfield water treatment plant for Huntsville Utilities will be the most expensive construction project in the utility’s 75year history. When completed in March 2018, the plant is expected to treat 12 million gallons of drinking water per day. “Demand for water from our system is regularly reaching 80 percent of our capacity,” said Joe Gehrdes, director of communications and public relations of Huntsville Utilities. “With water systems, 80 percent capacity demand tells you additional capacity is needed to insure the supply can continue accommodating demand, while also providing for growth. Discussion and design began after demand crossed that threshold. It really just took that much time to put a project of this magnitude together.” Huntsville Waterworks was founded in 1823. Hollowed cedar logs were used as pipes, and a wooden storage tank served as a reservoir. It was Alabama’s first public water system. Today, the publicly-owned, not-for-profit utility serves 90,000 water customers in Madison County. As for the site chosen for the new plant — near the intersection of Highway 431 and Guntersville Dam Road — Gehrdes called it a good fit. “Huntsville Utilities has two existing surface water plants on the Tennessee River, so the position of this plant made perfect sense from a redundancy and system reliability perspective,” said Gehrdes. The project will be funded with municipal bonds. The project includes a raw water intake structure, 42-in. (106.6 cm) raw water main pipelines, a conventional settling WTP and a 48-in. (121.9 cm) finished water main pipeline. “The design is necessary for surface water treatment. Additional treatment is required to meet current and future drinking water regulations,” said Gehrdes. “The timeline for project completion is approximately 30 months. “A safe water supply is a foundational requirement for any community. We must be able to supply safe drinking water with the necessary capacity to provide what our community needs now and in the future,” said Gehrdes. “We are incorporating state-of-the-art security equipment into this project. Security is a very important aspect of any water supply. “Water treatment of any kind is a huge responsibility. Water is essential for life, and our customers rely on us to deliver water that is dependable and safe. This added capacity will ensure that supply is always available, now and well
Brasfield & Gorrie photo
When completed in March 2018, the plant is expected to treat 12 million gallons of drinking water per day.
into our future.” Brasfield & Gorrie is serving as the general contractor. According to Ben Harris, Brasfield & Gorrie division manager, a notice to proceed was issued in March, 2015. “This project encompasses two primary construction sites and over 10 miles of pipe lines. Right now we’re stripping top soil and the mass excavation has started. There are also mobilization activities underway installing laydown areas, construction entrances and temporary office space.” There will be significant structural concrete work and over 10 mi. (16 km) of ductile iron pipeline work to complete the project. As for the raw water intake structure, Harris said it will require both on-shore and marine work that will be challenging from a geotechnical and environmental standpoint. “However, our team has extensive experience in this work. The raw and finished water pipelines will require significant coordination, because most of it is located on the
Alabama Department of Transportation’s right-of-way on Highway 431 and Guntersville Dam Road. Also, we expect to transport large earth moving equipment and pipelines to the site. Our goal is to minimize disruption to the normal flow of traffic along this busy corridor.” Approximately 150,000 cu. yds. (114,683 cu m) of dirt is being moved during the construction. Heavy machinery being used on the project includes three 150-ton (136 t) crawler cranes, as well as multiple excavators and associated earth moving equipment. The project consists of more than 20,000 cu. yds. (15,291 cu m) of structural concrete and almost 2,000 tons (1,814.3 t) of reinforcing steel. American Ductile Iron Pipe Company in Birmingham, Ala., will provide 23,000 linear ft. (7,010.4 m) of 42-in. (106 cm) and 35,000 linear ft. (10,668 m) of 48-in. (121.9 cm) ductile iron pipe for the water mains that will be installed by Garney Construction, a subcontractor to Brasfield & Gorrie. Shipment of pipe began in May. “Our team is excited to work on this project, because the result will provide quality drinking water for residents, and upon completion, it will support the growth and development needs of the city of Huntsville and surrounding areas for years to come. A project of this type requires an experienced and dedicated construction team. We are fortunate to work with an experienced owner and world-class engineering firm on this construction project,” said Harris. Tetra Tech Inc., a provider of consulting, engineering, program management and construction and technical services, is overseeing the work. “The single largest challenge to the project was maintaining the patience and focus on what has been a 10-year process to get the project to construction,” said Christian Dunaway, Tetra Tech vice president. “We live in a very short-term world today, and the strategies that work in that world don’t always apply to projects of this scope, magnitude and schedule.” Tetra Tech was responsible for assisting Huntsville Utilities in the siting, permitting, design and construction administration of the project. Tetra Tech began working with Huntsville Utilities in 2005 to determine a suitable location for a new water treatment plant. Over the next decade, the team performed the site selection study, water quality testing, technology pilot studies, permitting, design and bidding services. The project is expected to last three years. The work consists of four major components, including the raw water intake structure, the raw water main, the water treatment plant and the finished water main. The raw water intake structure is located on the Tennessee River, and is see PLANT page 2