• Expanded plant meets wastewater treatment needs of growing community
KANSAS CITY, MO, Nov. 15, 2007 -- A dedication ceremony for Johnson County Wastewater's newly expanded Blue River Main Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Overland Park, KS, recently gave participants a chance to celebrate the successful completion of new facilities. Black & Veatch provided design services for the expansion, which swiftly enabled the county to meet the increasing needs of its rapidly growing population through the county's first use of an innovative construction-management-at-risk (CMAR) project delivery approach.
"Use of the construction management-at-risk approach helped us get relief for the overloaded facility much sooner than we would have been able to achieve with traditional project delivery," said John P. O'Neil, Wastewater Administrator for Johnson County Wastewater. "The fantastic chemistry of the team members was also something to witness."
According to O'Neil, CMAR -- a variation of the increasingly popular design-build approach to infrastructure development -- expedited design and construction, which were completed in a combined total of only 23 months. Grimm Construction provided construction services for the project.
Innovative treatment processes were incorporated in the plant to expand capacity and enhance performance. The project tripled average capacity to 10.5 million gallons per day (mgd); provided biological nutrient removal (BNR) capability; added new ultraviolet (UV) disinfection and reaeration facilities; expanded and improved odor control; and increased wet-weather excess flow storage capacity.
"Black & Veatch is known for helping leading utilities like Johnson County Wastewater improve the water environment through use of innovative technologies," said Dave Hunt, a Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the Americas Central Region of Black & Veatch's water business. "In this case, the project team also demonstrated flexibility and productive teamwork in an alternative delivery approach and under an accelerated design and construction schedule."
New UV disinfection and cascade step reaeration facilities were added to further treat the plant's effluent prior to discharge to a local creek. Despite the increase in UV disinfection capability, maintenance was significantly reduced through the addition of an automated cleaning system.
A proactive public involvement program was a significant component of the expansion. Adjacent residential development and periodic complaints about odors prompted special community relations and odor control measures.
The Blue River Main WWTP is one of the first plants in Kansas to incorporate BNR technology to meet state discharge goals for total phosphorus and nitrogen. BNR technology reduces the nutrients available to promote eutrophication and the growth of algae in downstream water bodies. This has far-reaching benefits for local streams and rivers as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
Black & Veatch (www.bv.com) is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch develops tailored infrastructure solutions that meet clients' needs and provide sustainable benefits. Solutions are provided from the broad line of service expertise available within Black & Veatch, including conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, program management, construction management, environmental, security design and consulting, management consulting and infrastructure planning. With more than $2 billion in revenue, the employee-owned company has more than 100 offices worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six continents.
Black & Veatch's global water business provides innovative, technology-based solutions to utilities, governments and industries worldwide. Local project teams work with multinational water and wastewater treatment process experts to address site-specific challenges through a broad range of consulting, study, planning, design, design-build and construction management services.
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