Hawaii Unveils Completed $375 Million Wastewater Project
The completion of Hawaii’s largest ever wastewater system upgrade was formally announced last week by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. Following a U.S. EPA Consent Decree to improve Windward Oahu’s sewage collection and treatment system by June 2018, Brown and Caldwell, an environmental engineering and construction firm, worked with the city and county of Honolulu and its team of construction partners to deliver the Kaneohe-Kailua Wastewater Conveyance and Treatment Facilities Project on an accelerated schedule and within budget. The solution involved connecting the Kaneohe Wastewater Pre-Treatment Facility (KWWPTF) to the Kailua Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (KRWWTP) via a three-mile long, 10-ft diameter gravity sewer tunnel, increasing the region’s wastewater conveyance and storage capacity while reducing overflows. The tunnel conveys wastewater by gravity flow, sloping from a depth of 39-ft below ground level at the KWWPTF down toward the KRWWTP, ending at 77-ft below ground level. Traveling under Oneawa Hills was the preferred tunnel route, rather than placing a force main through Kaneohe Bay, therefore avoiding potential catastrophic sewage overflows into the environmentally sensitive public resource.
GKD Joins OEMP Project to Fight War on Plastics
GKD metal mesh technology enters the water industry in an attempt to reduce microplastic pollution. Partnering with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany and additional subsidiaries, GKD has joined the Optimized Materials and Procedures for Removing Microplastics from the Water Cycle (OEMP) project. The focus of the project is the treatment of wastewater in the sewage plants. Despite the sophisticated treatment of wastewater, tiny plastic particles still pass through sewage plants and flow into rivers, and ultimately, oceans. Estimates state that around 10 percent of annual plastic production lands in the world’s oceans, where they can accumulate into giant islands of waste, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is estimated to be 1.6 million square kilometers in size and growing each day.
H2M Earns Engineering Excellence Honors in New Jersey
Each year the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey hosts their annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) competition, which recognizes and celebrates engineering achievements that demonstrate the highest degree of skill and ingenuity among firms throughout the State of New Jersey. Engineering firms submit projects that match the criteria and a panel of diverse, distinguished judges rank the submissions. Projects are rated on the basis of uniqueness and innovative applications; future value to the engineering profession; perception by the public; complexity; and successful fulfillment of client and owner needs. Winning projects are then honored at the annual awards banquet. This year the 47th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet took place at Forsgate Country Club in Jamesburg, N.J. March 14, 2018. In attendance was H2M Associates Inc., which received an Honor Award for its Rapid Deployment Treatment Capacity Expansion project.
International Desalination Assn. & Greening the Islands Sign Cooperation Agreement
The International Desalination Assn. (IDA) and Greening The Islands (GTI) entered into a cooperation agreement to promote GTI Observatory, a continuous structured research and analysis initiative on energy, water and mobility that looks into island needs across different sectors, starting with water, energy and mobility. The observatory will map the most sustainable and innovative solutions and trends on technologies and costs, providing information to develop strategies and plans that can be deployed on islands and in remote locations around the world. IDA will promote communication and dissemination of the GTI Observatory’s results and also promote the GTI Observatory internally to support the initiative. In addition, IDA will actively participate on the GTI Observatory’s Scientific Committee.
Utilis Chosen as Winner of WaterFirst! Initiative
Utilis has been chosen as top entry out of 65 projects from 23 different countries in the WaterFirst! Initiative, winning the €10,000 prize and recognition at Seeds&Chips, The Global Food Innovation Summit in MiCo, Milano Congressi. Seeds&Chips was presented in collaboration with the National Research Council, The Italian Institute of Technology, and UNIDO ITPO Italy (the Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Offices, part of the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development). The international competition was launched to identify the most innovative technology and ideas to solve the problem of sustainable water management, the most urgent challenge confronting the world. “Utilis is so very pleased to be honored with this award, and for it to it to be in Italy, where we have provided services for twenty utility customers already, makes it even more special,” said Elly Perets, CEO of Utilis after hearing of the outcome.
MWH Constructors Awarded $23 Million Contract for Eagle, Colo. Project
MWH Constructors was awarded a $23 million contract by the town of Eagle, Colo., to serve as construction manager at-risk for the Lower Basin Water Treatment Plant (LBWTP). The new plant will provide reliable water service and environmental benefits, and allow the Eagle to pursue its vision for smart economic development and growth over the next 20 years. The town currently has a single water treatment plant serving the community’s water needs. The new 2.5 million gallon per day (mgd)—expandable to 5 mgd—LBWTP will increase water service capacity and reliability, while supporting the town’s peak water demands and future residential and commercial growth.
Networking News
- ResinTech hired Parag Deval as director of international sales and business development.
- Richard J. Heckman joins PolyCera Membranes board of directors.
