• CH2M HILL's sustained relationship with city of Aurora helps a sustainable water supply project move forward
DENVER, July 25, 2007 -- CH2M HILL, a global full-service engineering, construction and operations firm, was acknowledged as the designer and program manager of the Prairie Waters Project at the project's ground breaking ceremony held by the City of Aurora today that conveyed a theme of sustainability.
More than 150 leaders from Aurora attended the ground breaking and commemorated the event by signing their names to a section of the project's pipe which will be 34-miles long and 60" in diameter.
"The Prairie Waters Project is one of the most innovative water supply solutions in the West," said Rod Brauer, CH2M HILL's Program Manager for the project. "It uses a sustainable water supply by recapturing river water and will provide pure water to Aurora families and businesses. This project is drought insurance and it is the cornerstone of a water supply plan that will help meet Aurora's needs for decades."
For more than three decades, Aurora and CH2M HILL have worked in partnership to build and upgrade the city's water supply and treatment system. Holly Cornell, one of CH2M HILL's founders, was instrumental in developing CH2M HILL's contract to design and expansion of Aurora's Kuiper Water Treatment Facility in 1974. Since then the company has completed more than $60 million worth of work for Aurora.
The Prairie Waters Project uses an innovative natural purification process to perform initial treatment of water Aurora already owns from the South Platte River. After the natural purification process, water will be piped 34-miles south to the Aurora Reservoir Water Purification Facility. The facility will use a multi-step purification process that includes softening, filtration, advanced ultraviolet light oxidation, and activated carbon adsorption. Once complete, it will be one of the most advanced water purification facilities in the country and will to treat up to 50 million gallons of water per day.
Aurora Water and CH2M HILL have worked together to design and implement the project to be both cost-effective and sustainable for the environment. As the largest public works project under development in Colorado, the project has been endorsed by a wide range of water leaders in Colorado including representatives from the environmental community, agriculture and business.
Headquartered in Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in engineering, construction and operations for public and private clients. With $4.5 billion in revenue, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management for fee and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2007). The firm's work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environment, energy, communications, construction and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer by business media and professional associations worldwide. CH2M HILL has more than 19,000 employees in regional offices around the world.
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