EPSOM, Surrey, England, UK, Dec. 16, 2005 -- Atkins International has won a major contract from the city of Tulare, Calif., to support the upgrade of an industrial wastewater treatment plant. The work will include a detailed review of the process options for the upgrade, identification of the key project risks, analysis of the delivery options and preparation of bid documents.
The city of Tulare prides itself as the agricultural centre of California and the present industrial treatment plant was built to meet the needs of the dairy processing industries in the region which include well-known manufacturers of cheese, ice-cream and butter (Kraft, Haagen Dazs, Land-O-Lakes and Saputo Cheese).
The enormous pressure on water resources in the region, however, has led to tighter regulatory control and the city recently received new Waste Discharge Requirements (WRD) and a Cease and Desist (CDO) from the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The main constituents of concern are nitrogen and electrical conductivity. Since the wastewater effluent percolates into the ground, minerals can build up and impact on crops and groundwater.
During the first phase of the project Atkins will perform a technical review to determine which treatment option can treat the wastewater most robustly and cost-effectively. Atkins will assess potential project delivery methods, including design-bid-build and design-build options, and prepare the request for proposals (RFP) that will be used to select a design consultant. This phase of the work will be delivered by 1 March 2006.
Rupert Kruger, vice president for Atkins Water & Environment USA in Seal Beach, Calif., states: "Atkins Water has combined efforts with our USA subsidiary Hanscomb Faithful and Gould to win this exciting commission. This win demonstrates the importance of existing client relationships and the benefit of internal collaboration to grow our business. We anticipate that the contract will provide new opportunities for us in the areas of project management, risk management, cost estimating and scheduling through the life of the project, which is due for completion in 2009."
Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) plans, designs and enables the delivery of complex infrastructure and buildings for clients in the public and private sectors across the world. Atkins is the largest multi-disciplinary consultancy in Europe; the largest engineering consultancy in the UK; and the fourth largest design firm in the world. Atkins was awarded "Ten Best Big Companies to work For 2005" by The Sunday Times of London; "Construction Consultant of the Year 2005" by Building; and "Consultant of the Year Major Firm 2005" by New Civil Engineer.
Atkins was ranked No. 1 for "Best Reputation in Environmental Consultancy" as well as No. 1 for reputation in Contaminated Land, Environmental Impact Assessment/Strategic Environmental Assessment and Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) in the Environment Business Consultancy Survey 2005.
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