Kansas City, Mo., June 4, 2001 — Black & Veatch announced today that it has won the Grand Prize Award for Design for the City of Scottsdale's Water Campus in the American Academy of Environmental Engineers� national Excellence in Environmental Engineering� annual awards competition.
The Scottsdale Water Campus, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, is currently the largest in the nation to treat wastewater to drinking water standards using microfiltration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO) technologies. It is also one of the first large facilities to use a new generation of thin-film composite RO membranes, which provide a high rejection of dissolved material at about half of the operating pressure. This significantly reduces energy consumption.
"The Scottsdale Water Campus required Black & Veatch to recognize and incorporate the delicate balance among community needs, environmental concerns, and government regulations," said Jim Patton, president of the Americas Division of Black & Veatch. "This award showcases the abilities and talents of the project team and exemplifies the company's commitment to building a world of difference."
The Water Campus is the cornerstone of the City's integrated wastewater treatment/water reclamation program towards compliance with Arizona's 1980 Groundwater Management Act, which requires either natural or artificial recharge to equal groundwater withdrawals.
Black & Veatch saved Scottsdale time and money by recommending and providing fast-track design of an expansion (Phase II) concurrent with construction of the first phase of the Scottsdale Water Campus. This approach enabled Scottsdale to benefit from existing excavation and construction, resulting in savings of $4 million.
"Water is the lifeblood of the desert, and we are obviously committed to the protection and preservation of this most valued resource," said Scottsdale Water Resources Department General Manager David M. Mansfield. "The Water Campus represents the marriage of social and environmental values through effective use of advanced technology and engineering."
AAEE received entries from throughout the United States from industries, consulting firms, government agencies, and institutions. All the entries were judged by a nine-person panel of nationally recognized experts.
Over the past decade, AAEE has recognized Black & Veatch accomplishments through two Superior Achievement Awards, two Grand Prizes in Research, three Grand Prizes in Design, and one Honor Award in Design.
The criteria upon which all entries were judged included demonstration of an integrated approach that considers all environmental media - air, water, and land; quality as evidenced by the degree of user satisfaction and proven performance; the extent of the entry contributes to our efforts or offers the prospect of contributing to social and economic advancement; originality and innovation representing the application of new knowledge, a new application of existing knowledge or an innovative mix or existing performance; and the complexity of the problem addressed.
"The caliber of the competition was especially high this year," said AAEE Executive Director William C. Anderson. "Black & Veatch and the City of Scottsdale deserve this special recognition for the Scottsdale Water Campus design."
The American Academy of Environmental Engineers is a specialty certification board and professional society for environmental engineers that is dedicated to improving the quality of environmental engineering practice.
Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, it certifies environmental engineers of proven quality from around the world in one or more of seven specialties of environmental engineering practice. For more information about the Academy, access www.aaee.net.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a global engineering and construction firm specializing in the fields of energy, water, and information technology.
Black & Veatch provides complete engineering, procurement, construction, architectural, financial, asset management, IT, and management consulting services for utilities, industry, and government agencies.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the employee-owned company has more than 90 offices worldwide. Black & Veatch is ranked 63rd on the Forbes "500 Top Private Companies in the U.S." listing for 2000. The company's website address is www.bv.com.
