WaterWater treatment plant ozone upgrade wins civil engineering award
The Ozone Upgrade and Expansion Project of the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant in San Diego, California, was named the winner of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2013 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Award. In addition to expanding plant capacity by 67 percent, the city of San Diego converted from chlorine to ozone disinfection. The incorporation of ozone enabled the city to provide not only safer water with lower levels of carcinogenic disinfection by-products, but also water that is odorless and better tasting.
The Ozone Upgrade and Expansion Project of the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant in San Diego, California, was named the winner of the 2013 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Award at this year’s Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) gala, held on 21 March in Arlington, Virginia.
Originally built and brought into service in 1951, the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant is the oldest of the three facilities responsible for supplying water to the city of San Diego. The new expansion and upgrade aim to provide a state-of-the-art water treatment facility with an expected useful life of seventy-five years to meet the anticipated needs of San Diego’s growing population.
An ASCE release reports that in addition to expanding plant capacity by 67 percent, the city of San Diego converted from chlorine to ozone disinfection. The incorporation of ozone enabled the city to provide not only safer water with lower levels of carcinogenic disinfection by-products, but also water that is odorless and better tasting.
Upgrading and expanding the existing conventional treatment processes involved new pretreatment (flocculation and sedimentation basins) and dual-media filters, as well as a new replacement clear well.
The project team of the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant includes the city of San Diego; Malcolm Pirnie, the water division of ARCADIS; CH2M HILL; and Archer Western Contractors.
ASCE says it established the OCEA in 1960 to recognize a project that makes a significant contribution to both the civil engineering profession and society as a whole. Honoring an overall project rather than an individual, the award recognizes the contributions of many engineers.
In addition to Alvarado Water Treatment Plant Ozone Upgrade and Expansion Project, 2013 OCEA finalists included:
- Brightwater Treatment Plant, located in Woodinville, Washington, and submitted by the team of CH2M HILL, of Englewood, Colorado, and Brown and Caldwell, of Walnut Creek, California
- Lake Oswego Interceptor Sewer, located in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and submitted by the City of Lake Oswego
- My Waterway@Punggol, Singapore, located in Punggol Town, Singapore, and submitted by the Housing and Development Board of Singapore
- William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery, located in Anchorage, Alaska, and submitted by HDR Alaska, Inc.
