Category 5
Environmental
OUTSTANDING PROJECT
Mattawoman Wastewater Treatment Plant – Upgrade for Enhanced Nutrient Removal
Joint Venture: George, Miles & Buhr / KCI Technologies
Nutrient pollution is a serious threat to the health of the Chesapeake Bay, fueling algae growth, clouding water, depleting oxygen levels and creating dead zones for fish, blue crabs, oysters and other marine life. In the battle to save the Bay, Charles County has taken a big step forward through improvements to its Mattawoman Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The joint venture team of George Miles and Buhr LLC and KCI Technologies Inc. led the design effort. Because Mattawoman WWTP sits in the heart of the county’s designated growth and development district, the design team was tasked with reducing nutrient discharges to conform with the region’s biological nutrient removal (BNR) goals, while providing treatment capacity for the county’s economic and growth centers. Among the project’s challenges were site limitations, funding considerations, and operator safety concerns. In addition, all renovations had to occur while the site was operational. Although originally designed to meet goals outlined in the 2000 Chesapeake Bay Initiative, engineers modified the design to a four-stage treatment process known as Bardenpho™ to comply with stringent new goals approved under the state’s Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) program. The joint venture team also assisted the County in negotiating the first-ever ENR grant from Maryland Department of the Environment, which covered more than 40 percent of the cost. Mattawoman is now one of the most flexible, innovative, and state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plants in Maryland and is one of the first facilities to meet the new ENR goals. The application of unique design parameters such as effluent reuse, bio-solids recycling, and multi-staged nitrogen removal uniquely positions the County to meet current ENR requirements, accommodate planned local growth, and assist in improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay. As a result of upgrades designed by GMB and KCI, the Mattawoman WWTP is capable of reducing nutrient discharges to the Bay by nearly two million pounds per year.
HONOR AWARD
Swan Point Wastewater Pumping, Water Reclamation Facilities, Parallel Force Mains, and Existing Outfall Sewer Modifications
Firm: Rummel, Klepper & Kahl
RK&K teamed with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company (W-T) for a design-
build project that provided a new limit-of-technology (LOT) wastewater reclamation facility (WRF) in Swan Point, Maryland. The project also included pumping, parallel force mains and existing outfall modifications. The project owner is U.S. Steel and ownership will be transferred to Charles County Department of Utilities after commissioning. Robert J. Andryszak, P.E. and Kelly Duffy, P.E. served as RK&K’s project manager and deputy project manager, respectively. The existing treatment facility serving the Swan Point area was undersized for proposed development and provided modest treatment with no nutrient removal. The new WRF is designed for 0.3 million gallons per day (mgd) treatment capacity and to comply with LOT Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) effluent concentration requirements of 3 mg/l nitrogen and 0.3 mg/l phosphorus. The Four-Stage Bardenpho process and downstream filtration was utilized. Re-use of the existing outfall was selected to avoid the environmental impact of installing a new sub-aqueous portion. 9,000 linear feet parallel force mains and pumping stations were provided to convey flow between the new WRF and existing outfall. The outfall was undersized and was converted from gravity to a pressure system using a HDPE liner to avoid disturbing wetland areas with an open-cut larger, gravity outfall installation. This gravity to pressure conversion using the HDPE liner was the first of its kind to be completed in the region. This $14 M project was completed in approximately three years, with the majority of the construction being completed within a 12-month period. Utilizing the design-build delivery method expedited the project, allowed the Owner to select preferred equipment, and provided a facility constructed with limited environmental impact that produces high quality effluent.
HONOR AWARD
New Design Water Transmission System
Firm: Whitman, Requardt & Associates
Frederick County, Maryland is currently expanding the New Design Road Water Treatment Plant (NDRWTP) to serve the region’s growing population. To meet these increasing demands, Frederick County and the City of Frederick have collaborated in the expansion of the NDRWTP using the Potomac River as the raw water source. To deliver the additional water where needed, the following new facilities were required: potable water transmission, potable water storage, and pumping facilities. This infrastructure, known as the New Design Water Transmission System, consists of approximately 15 miles of large diameter pipeline (42-, 36-, 30- and 24-inch mains) from the NDRWTP to the City of Frederick, and a 2.5 million gallon water storage tank, and 15 million gallon per day (MGD) booster pumping station built on a ridge overlooking the historic Monocacy National Battlefield. The project included detailed alignment studies; comprehensive hydraulic and surge modeling, including water quality studies; extensive environmental permitting; final design and bidding services; and construction services, administration, and on-site inspection. The Corridor Alignment Report, completed by Whitman, Requardt and Associates, LLP (WR&A) in November 2001, examined the infrastructure required to deliver an ultimate water demand capacity of 54.0 MGD to the County’s Service Areas and the City of Frederick. WR&A also analyzed several alignment alternatives for comparative purposes. The completed study and report resulted in the adoption of an alignment corridor and the initiation of the final design stage for the Water Transmission Main, Pumping Station, and Storage Tank in April 2002. The potable Water Transmission Main, Pumping Station, and Storage Tank were bid and constructed under four separate contracts, and all are currently completed and in service. WR&A also provided complete construction services and on-site inspection for all four construction contracts. Final combined total construction cost was $30,605,000.
HONOR AWARD
Kurt Iron & Metal Facility, Fairfield Marine Terminal
Firm: Whitney, Bailey, Cox & Magnani
The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) purchased 10.5 acres from the Estate of Kerry Ellis, at a site known as the Kurt Iron & Metal Facility, in 2000. The site was used for shipbreaking, salvage, and demolition disposal from 1987-1997. At the time of purchase, the site had abandoned, deteriorating trailer buildings, infrastructure and debris piles ranging in height from 25 to 35 feet, resulting from shipbreaking activities as well as unlicensed solid waste disposal from other marine demolition. The MPA purchased the site to expand the Fairfield Marine Terminal, procure additional deep water access, and to provide contiguous property for the development of the Masonville Dredged Material Containment Facility. WBCM Project Managers, Mark Shafer, P.E. (clean-up) and Jesse Lindsay, P.E. (capping) along with subconsultant, EBA Engineering, were tasked with the environmental assessment, clean-up, and remediation of the site. This Project was the first of its kind to be enrolled in the MDE’s Voluntary Clean-Up Program (VCP) by the MPA. It illustrates how a significantly environmentally-impacted property can be resurrected into a viable beneficial use. The initial phase consisted of a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment and Inventory of the site. During this Phase, WBCM assisted in the inventory, prepared mapping of the site, and performed quantity estimates of the debris and abandoned infrastructure according to characterization of the material. After enrollment in the MDE VCP program, the Phase II Environmental Assessment was developed and completed. WBCM provided the oversight and review of the Response Action Plan (RAP) and provided the technical design information for utility installation and the final capping of the site. The final phase focused on the actual cleanup of the site. WBCM prepared the Contract Documents for the “Environmental and Solid Waste Disposal at the Former Kurt Iron and Metal Facility.” These were predicated largely on WBCM’s development of a performance specification which detailed the preparation of a site specific Health and Safety Plan; the characterization, segregation, and handling of the materials; and the disposal requirements of the hazardous and solid waste.
