Lake Pleasant Water Treatment Plant (AZ)

The City of Phoenix contracted with the All American Water Team, consisting of American Water Services and the design-build joint venture of Black & Veatch and McCarthy Building Companies, on North America’s largest potable water DBO project, which supplies safe drinking water to 400,000 households in northern Phoenix.

Highlights:

  • The project has won numerous awards, including the 2008 National Design-Build Award from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) in the “water/wastewater over $15 million category.
  • Incorporated the latest in modern water treatment technology – including an innovative ballasted flocculation process for high-rate sedimentation – and automation.
  • Phased permitting resulted in construction starting two months early, which led to a budget reduction of nearly $30 million for the city of Phoenix.
  • The 36-month construction operation involved more than 930,000 man-hours with zero lost-time incidents.

Black & Veatch, in 50/50 joint venture with McCarthy Building Companies Inc., provided design-build services to American Water Services Company under a lump sum contract for the $215 million, 80 mgd water treatment plant project. Advanced and emerging treatment technology played a prominent part in North America’s largest potable water design-build-operate (DBO) project, which supplies safe drinking water to 400,000 households in northern Phoenix.

The project consisted of the design, construction, and operation of a new 80 mgd water treatment plant and related facilities to reliably meet future water needs for the city of Phoenix under a 15 year, $336 million DBO contract with the All American Water Team consisting of American Water Services and the design-build joint venture of Black & Veatch and McCarthy Building Companies as subcontractor to American Water. Black & Veatch was responsible for design-build project management, design, engineered equipment procurement, and start-up services. McCarthy was responsible for managing the construction. American Water was the overall lead of the DBO project and long term operations.

The Lake Pleasant plant incorporated the latest in modern water treatment technology and automation. Treatment included an innovative ballasted flocculation process for high-rate sedimentation, ozonation, deep-bed monomedia filters, post-filtration granular activated carbon contactors and ultraviolet disinfection. These processes control taste and odor, eliminate harmful bacteria and other substances, and provide a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water. The project also included a raw water intake and pump station, 2.0 miles of 92-inch diameter pipeline, on-site storage and pumping of finished water, and on-site carbon regeneration facilities.

Ingenuity and Innovation

The city considered many delivery options prior to selecting the DBO method, which saved them nearly $30 million.  Formal partnering was implemented to further enhance the collaborative environment, an approach unprecedented for a project of this size and scope. The team maneuvered skillfully among state agencies while delivering the highest level of client service. The facility was designed with extreme flexibility, enabling it to meet all water quality goals regardless of incoming water quality. Many modern techniques to control taste and odor, eliminate harmful bacteria, and provide a reliable supply of drinking water that fulfills all government regulations.

Good Neighbor Elements

The plant was designed to match the natural environment, consistent with the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural philosophy. Extensive use of indigenous materials was incorporated to link the worlds of nature and man and demonstrate the interdependence of the architecture and the site. Former Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice Vern Swaback of Swaback Partners led the architectural concept design as a subcontractor to the Black & Veatch/McCarthy team.