A groundbreaking and blessing for the expansion of the Kaua’i County Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Hawaii was held with a celebration following at the Kekaha Harbor House.
The events marked the start of the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Expansion, Phase 1 Project.
In November 2009, the county of Kaua‘i selected Briant Construction, Inc., the construction subsidiary of Kaua‘i-based Aqua Engineers, Inc., to upgrade and expand the county’s Waimea WWTP.
The project will help the county of Kaua‘i provide reliable, expanded wastewater service opportunities for the West Kaua‘i community to meet future wastewater treatment demands of the region. The project also will create jobs for Kaua’i local contractors, bringing employment opportunities to Kaua‘i.
Ed Tschupp, chief engineer, the county of Kaua‘i Department of Public Works, Wastewater Div., of who participated in the blessing, said the proposal submitted by Briant Construction was “technically superior and cost-effective, reflecting their understanding of the wastewater industry and demonstrating their leadership in the wastewater industry in the state.”
“The project is especially important to us because it is our Glamour Green project that incorporates solar power and water reuse,” said April Matsumura, Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program engineer, from the Department of Health Wastewater Branch. “Along with Maui’s pump efficiency project, the project enabled our program to allocate 42% of ARRA funds to green projects.”
“The project represents the future hope for West Side residents, through job creation and sustainability, which enables our citizens to pay their bills,” State Representative Roland Sagum, District 16, said. “The project enables Kikiaola Land Company to implement its community master plan, which is recognized and accepted in the Kaua‘i general plan.”
“We are pleased that Briant Construction, Inc., was awarded the contract for the Waimea WWTP project via a competitive proposal process. We look forward to the job opportunities this project will provide our residents along with future economic development on the West Side as a result of the increased capacity of the treatment plant,” said Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. “This is an excellent example of how the people of Kaua'i are directly benefiting from federal stimulus funds.”
Expected to take two years to complete, the upgraded Waimea plant will use state-of-the-art filtration systems and clean energy technology such as photovoltaics for optimal service and cost efficiencies. The plant’s treatment capacity will more than double, to 700,000 gal per day (gpd) from 300,000 gpd. In addition, the expanded and upgraded plant will produce a high quality treated wastewater effluent (R-1), which can be used for unrestricted water reuse applications like crop and open space irrigation.
A design-build approach will be used for the project, during which the plant will continue to operate while under construction.
Source: Aqua Engineers
