HARRISBURG, PA, March 6, 2008 -- The Northampton Water Treatment Plant in North Whitehall Township, Pa., has received a Diamond Award in the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania's (ACEC/PA's) 2008 Diamond Awards for Engineering Excellence Competition. The Northampton Water Treatment Plant was recognized in ACEC/PA's Category E: Water and Wastewater.
Gannett Fleming, an international planning, design, and construction management firm, designed the $18.6 million facility, which began operating in July 2006 with an eight million gallon per day capacity. The facility withdraws water from the Lehigh River and the Spring Mill Reservoir, and completes clarification, filtration, and ultraviolet disinfection processes to meet U.S. EPA requirements. The water is pumped to more than 14,500 customers in the Boroughs of Northampton and North Catasauqua, and Allen Township in Northampton County, Pa., and the Borough of Coplay, Whitehall Township, and North Whitehall Township in Lehigh County, Pa.
The Northampton Water Treatment Plant was the first water treatment plant in the nation to be LEED® certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, which sets design and construction guidelines for buildings that save energy, use recycled building materials, and minimize their impact on the environment.
Among its many environmental benefits, the facility was constructed using slag concrete, which includes a mixture of cement and recycled slag. The building's superstructure envelope was also computer modeled prior to design to ensure energy efficiency, resulting in lower heating and cooling costs. To maximize natural insulation, the plant substructure also extends three stories underground.
Other green features at the plant include the use of daylighting to illuminate offices, energy-saving lighting controls throughout the building, the use of fast growth lumber, recycled rubber flooring, and systems designed to minimize water use.
Gannett Fleming serves clients across the United States and abroad from more than 50 regional offices.
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