Water Works Park II, a planned $250 million design-build-maintain project, represents a landmark endeavor for the City of Detroits Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). The project will provide drinking water to Metro Detroit residents and link the citys past and future.
The project is a partnership between DWSD and a group of businesses called the Detroit Water Team. The Detroit Water Team is led by the engineering firms of Montgomery Watson Michigan and Black & Veatch, as well as Detroit Water Constructors, Motor City Electric, Henderson Electric, EBI-Detroit, METCO Services, Applied Sciences and Cole Financial. The park is expected to be completed in December 2003.
A byproduct of the project will be realized through aggressive programs by DWSD and the Detroit Water Team (DWT) to promote local small businesses, participate in educational outreach and stimulate economic development. The DWT is a joint venture formed to provide DWSD with the design-build-maintain team and features several key attributes:
* 90 percent of the prime contractors are Detroit-based businesses. * 100 percent of the project construction will be performed within the City of Detroit. * 55 percent of the contract dollar value will go to Detroit-based small businesses. * 41 percent of the contract dollar value will go to minority and women-owned businesses.
At the foundation of the Water Works Park project on the Detroit riverfront is a facility established in 1879 which houses the citys primary water treatment plant. The original plant was designed to support a 78 mgd capacity. In contrast, the fully-automated water treatment plant to be built at the park will be provide drinking water to approximately 4 million people in the 1,000-square-mile DWSD service area.
The goal of the project is to create a state-of-the-art facility that will be economically efficient, operationally sound, architecturally aesthetic and intrinsically educational.
DWSD Director Stephen F. Gorden said that the project represents a progressive step toward DWSDs mission to exceed its customers expectations. "The Water Works Park II Project is a vital element in the Departments water master plan to provide the best drinking water possible as we move boldly into the 21st century," Gorden said.
The renovation of Water Works Park is being undertaken to provide customers with water that surpasses existing and proposed regulatory standards. The plant will implement a combination of ozonation technology and deep-bed, monomedia filter systems to treat source water from the Detroit River.
From an educational and historic perspective, Water Works Park II will provide an environment intended to encourage young people to pursue water-related careers and strengthen the communitys knowledge of DWSDs history, goals and accomplishments. New parts of the park will include Saturday and summer science academies, a research center/university outreach program, a museum, a Water Works campus, a local contractor empowerment program, and a community assessment, research and public outreach plan.
The park went through several changes before this project was envisioned. From its opening in 1879, the city had a lagoon for swimming and navigating small boats, a baseball diamond, a park and picnic area, tennis courts, and winter ice-skating, a water tower, a water-driven, 8 ft. tall floral clock and a stone entrance. The park was renamed to Gladwin Park in 1912 to honor Major Henry Gladwin, British Commander of Fort Detroit. The park was closed from 1914 to 1918, because of concern for the safety of the citys water supply during World War I.
The floral clock was restored and taken to Dearborn, Mich., after the Water Board decided costs to maintain the clock were prohibitive.
The park was closed again during World War II, and reopened in 1945, only to be closed again in 1951. In 1957, after six years of public protest, seven acres of the park along the riverfront reopened.
