WDBC has been busy! See what education opportunities are coming up. Project spotlight on Emporia WTP. Welcome new at-large director.
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WDBC E-NEWS – July 2, 2019
Issue Highlights
WDBC Welcomes New At-Large Board Member Patrick R. Cairo
Project Spotlight - City of Emporia, KS, Dedicates Renovated Wastewater Treatment Plant
WDBC Launches New Education Modules - New Sessions Coming Up
Blog Feature - The Perks of Partnership
Members of the Water Design-Build Council wish each and every one of you a most joyous and safe 4th of July as we honor our country’s heritage and its values.
WDBC Board Welcomes New At-Large Director - Patrick R. Cairo, PE
At its June meeting, the WDBC Board of Directors unanimously approved the appointment of Patrick Cairo as an at-large director and enthusiastically expressed their appreciation for his willingness to serve the industry in this capacity. Mr. Cairo is an experienced executive with a demonstrated history of working in the water and environmental services industry with specific skills in water and wastewater treatment, water resources management, strategic planning, project management, and strategy.
Currently, he is President of PCAIRO Management Consulting, LLC, based in NJ, where he provides advisory services on utility improvements, organizational restructuring, public-private-partnerships (P3), acquisitions, and other types of environmental management services for water and major infrastructure facilities. In his prior position as Senior Vice President Corporate Development with SUEZ North America, Patrick was responsible for corporate growth and strategy in the U.S. and Canada from major projects and acquisitions. With SUEZ France, he was Corporate Director of Technology, Innovation, and Environmental Services where he managed SUEZ's global network of technology and research centers located in Paris (France); Northumbrian (UK); Richmond, VA, (U.S.); Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); and Sydney (Australia).
Patrick’s career began at the Philadelphia Water Department where he eventually became its Deputy Water Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for upgrading the city's three major wastewater treatment plants to advanced secondary treatment, building a large biosolids reuse facility, and improving the three water treatment plants' process technology to meet the needs of 2.6 million people in the greater Philadelphia region.
Fluent in French, he is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's in civil engineering and master's in environmental engineering. Patrick is a professional engineer in Pennsylvania and has also published over 80 papers on public-private-partnerships, water management, and technology innovation.
Project Spotlight: City of Emporia Dedicates Renovated Wastewater Treatment Plant (KS)
A new wastewater treatment plant for the City of Emporia demonstrates that multiple public benefits, including cost savings, can be achieved by applying new technology to existing infrastructure, all within the umbrella of a progressive design-build project delivery approach. As a celebration of that achievement, a formal dedication and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Emporia Wastewater Treatment Plant was conducted on June 19 at the plant site. The project reached substantial completion in June by the design-build team of Burns & McDonnell and CAS Constructors - an Alberici Enterprise.
The project began in 2015, when regulators notified Emporia city leaders that renewal of the plant’s discharge permit would be contingent on meeting more stringent requirements for removal of nitrogen, phosphorous, and other pollutants. In addition, more treatment capacity would be needed by the city.
“We faced a significant requirement for a capital upgrade to our treatment plant but knew we did not have the resources to construct a new facility,” says Emporia City Manager Mark McAnarney. “So, we challenged Burns & McDonnell and CAS Constructors - an Alberici Enterprise - to come up with a plan to maximize efficiency of this capital investment by reusing existing infrastructure while also increasing treatment capacity in a way that would meet our new, tougher permit obligations.”
The solution hinged on designing and retrofitting the plant to employ an innovative integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) system — the first of its kind in Kansas — within the facility footprint. City officials selected the IFAS system based on its ease of installation in the existing basin, thereby eliminating the need to build separate costly infrastructure, as well is its proven performance for biological nutrient removal (BNR). The new IFAS system expands treatment capacity from 4 million gallons per day (mgd) to 5.4 mgd.
“The efficiencies we achieved at the Emporia plant really can be attributed to our design-build project delivery method that gave us the flexibility to evaluate and select the right technology,” says Ron Coker, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Water Group at Burns & McDonnell. “Design-build emphasizes close collaboration between owner and project team much further upstream in the project planning cycle. With a clear understanding of budget constraints and regulatory requirements, we were able to focus on an engineering solution that gained new life from existing infrastructure while adding a whole range of facility improvements.”
As part of the overall project master plan, Burns & McDonnell worked with the City to provide financial guidance and support in helping the City obtain funding for the project via the Kansas State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF). The facility enhancements enable the City to treat wet weather flows of up to 11 mgd, benefit from streamlined operations and solids handling, use less energy, and add entirely new laboratory, office, and administrative space.
WDBC Launches Updated 2019 Education Sessions
With the newly updated education and training modules that integrate the 5th edition of the Water and Wastewater Design-Build Handbook, WDBC instructors Mark Alpert and Linda Hanifin Bonner recently conducted a 1-1/2-day workshop on the principles and practices of collaborative delivery for the NY Department of Environmental Conservation and Nassau County Public Works Department. These new materials focus on the collaborative process for planning, procuring, and managing design-build projects where key decisions are identified and made.
EDUCATION PROGRAM UPDATES:
July 18-19, 2019 – Florida DEP State Revolving Fund Program - Division of Water Restoration Assistance - Tallahassee, FL
Hosted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection DWRA, this 1-1/2-day education session on collaborative delivery focuses on integrating the application and approval process for the state revolving fund program. Open to all state and local governments, the program takes place at the CARR Building, 3800 Commonwealth Blvd, Room 170.
Space is limited. First come, first served. For registration, please contact: Gregory C. Alfsen, PE, Project Manager, State Revolving Fund Program, Division of Water Restoration Assistance
September 8, 2019 - PNCWA 2019 Pre-Conference Workshop on Collaborative Delivery - Portland, OR 10:30AM – 5:00PM (lunch included)
This inclusive education and training sessionwill help attendees make sense of the range of collaborative-delivery options in use in the water market.From CM/GC (GC/CM in Washington, also known as CMAR), to progressive design-build, lump-sum design-build, and design-build-operate, these models can offer improvements to traditional design-bid-build. But not every model is right for every project or every client. Project success is dependent on many factors, including procurement methodology, contract terms, and organizational culture and support.
This workshop will utilize Water Design-Build Council training materials designed to educate owners and practitioners about collaborative-delivery models. The training will provide essential knowledge needed to plan for, procure, and manage collaborative-delivery projects.
At the end of the day, a successful design-build project comes down to working alongside people you can trust as true partners. Whether considering technical innovations, nailing down costs, or exploring creative delivery solutions, it’s essential that all players work together to achieve the project’s end goal.
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.
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