WDBC E-NEWS – January 20, 2021

Meet WDBC First Vice President William O. Hixon, PE, BCEE, Construction Services Leader, Southeastern U.S., Arcadis

Elected at our annual meeting in December 2020, WDBC First Vice President/Treasurer Bill Hixon took office on January 1, 2021. Bill previously served as the second vice president/secretary of the Council in 2020.

Mr. Hixon leads the collaborative-delivery community of practice for Arcadis Water Business Line and is the Arcadis leader for construction services for the Southeast United States, with over 41 years of experience in the design and construction of water and wastewater treatment systems and improvements. Bill has been involved in design-build projects for over 25 years and also serves as a technical advisor for project teams involved in design-build project delivery. He is responsible for providing quality assurance and risk analysis for significant construction projects, including providing constructibility reviews, cost estimating, and schedule planning. He has conducted numerous workshops for engineers, teaching the basic principles involved in preparing bidding and contract documents.

Bill's continued service to the Council is a valuable asset!

Six-Session Package of Online Education Starts Next Week

Join the WDBC for a six-session package of online education sessions designed for owners and practitioners in the water industry. Officials, managers, and engineering and O&M staff of public water/wastewater facilities who are looking to gain essential knowledge needed to procure and deliver design-build and CMAR projects should attend these classes.

Each session will include a review of the principles and best practices of collaborative delivery as well as the topic of the day:

January 28: Deciding to Implement a Collaborative-Delivery Project
February 25: Risk Management
March 25: Contracts
April 22: Conducting the Procurement Process
May 27: Managing & Implementing Collaborative-Delivery Projects
June 24: Getting to Project Completion & Transition

All sessions will be conducted on Microsoft Teams from 10:00 - 1:30 p.m. MST (break 11:30 - 12:00 MST)

Package includes a hard copy and PDF of the 5th edition Water and Wastewater Design-Build Handbook. See registration page for single-session options.

For more information, please contact WDBC Business Operations Manager Bob Golden at 303.641.0550 or rgolden@waterdesignbuild.org.

Remember the Yugo!¹

By Leofwin Clark, Vice President, Brown and Caldwell

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Ohio City Selects Arcadis to Design New Water Treatment Plant

The City of Lancaster, Ohio, has selected Arcadis to design its new 6-mgd water treatment plant. The plant will replace one of the city’s two water plants in order to upgrade local infrastructure, increase capacity, and help strengthen the city’s resilient future.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Lancaster,” said Chad Dunn, project manager at Arcadis. “We are thrilled that our partnership with the city now includes designing an up-to-date water treatment plant to handle the demand and resource challenges of the 21st century and ensure a fit-for-future Lancaster.”

This latest project in Lancaster is just one example of the team’s commitment to continuously delivering a positive client experience. Arcadis’ strong working relationship with Lancaster has been built over the years by providing valuable insight and quality work whenever a need arose, no matter the scale or scope.

Arcadis’ top priority will be considering the needs of Lancaster’s 40,000 residents throughout the course of the project. The company will evaluate the site for the new groundwater treatment plant, design the plant itself and help manage construction administration and programming.

“Water and wastewater are central to the world’s most pressing conservation challenges. We are delighted to help Lancaster ensure a sustainable water supply for the community,” said John McCarthy, president of Arcadis’ water business in North America.

The existing facility that Arcadis will replace was built in the early 20th century, a testament to the prevalence of aging infrastructure across the United States. Following decades of work upgrading and building wastewater treatment plants in Lancaster, this is Arcadis’ first water treatment project for the city.

“Arcadis has provided the utmost service and expertise on a wide variety of projects with the City of Lancaster over the last 30 years,” said Steven Wellstead, PE, project manager. “The city is excited to embark on this project and we have all the confidence that our partnership with Arcadis will result in yet another successful project that meets both the short- and long-term needs of the community.”

The project is in the planning stage and is expected to be completed in 2024.

Member Companies

The Water Design-Build Council stands ready to contribute its expertise, resources, innovation, and enthusiasm to the challenge of strengthening our water and wastewater infrastructure.