CH2M Hill Inc., of Dallas, has earned a National Recognition Award in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 49th annual Engineering Excellence Awards for designing improvements to the Wilson Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in Wylie, Texas.
Expanding the capacity and efficiency of the treatment plant’s operation during weather extremes was critical, but so too was protecting Lavon Lake, a drinking water supply reservoir for more than 1.6 million people and a major recreational asset. Ordinarily, separate systems provide sufficient treatment capacity during peak rain event flows and remove harmful nutrients in dry weather, but the project team designed an innovative and economical system that performs both functions. With this design, Lavon Lake’s water quality is safeguarded under all weather conditions, further enriching its recreational value. The per-gallon cost of the new process is only a fraction of conventional technologies, as are the maintenance requirements. Life-cycle savings for the new system are projected at more than $100 million.
The project is among 170 engineering projects throughout the nation and around the world recognized by ACEC as engineering achievements and eligible for one of the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards. Judging for the Engineering Excellence Awards—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”—took place in February and was conducted by a panel of more than 30 engineers, architects, government officials, media members and academics. Awards criteria include uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, complexity and success in meeting goals.
Final winners, including 16 Honor Awards, eight Grand Awards and the Grand Conceptor Award for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement, will be announced at the Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at The Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Source: American Council of Engineering Companies
