• $158.4 million contract amendment makes Florida project one of nation's two largest DBO contracts
HOUSTON, April 30, 2007 -- Tampa Bay Water has selected Veolia Water North America - South LLC (Veolia Water) to manage a design-build-operate (DBO) project that will nearly double capacity at the Tampa Bay Water Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant from 72 million-gallons-per-day (MGD) to 120 MGD. Veolia Water designed, built and now operates what will be the regional water authority's largest treatment facility and among the world's most technologically sophisticated, having led a team of companies first selected in 2000.
The contract amendment amounting to $158.4 million over its term was unanimously approved by Tampa Bay Water's board of directors, making the Brandon, Fla., treatment facility the nation's largest DBO project, sharing the honor with Seattle Public Utilities' 120-MGD Tolt Treatment Facility.
"This project significantly expands the region's alternative water supply with a high-quality product that is far better than both federal and state drinking water standards," said Jerry Maxwell, general manager of Tampa Bay Water. "We're very proud of our partnership's accomplishments to date. Together, we've created a state-of-the-art treatment facility and are now building on this successful platform to meet our customers' future needs in a conservative, competitive manner."
The contract amendment builds upon the success of the original water partnership by utilizing the same proven technology process train, featuring Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies' patented ACTIFLO(R) clarification process. The DBO process will again provide Tampa Bay Water with performance guarantees for water quality, water quantity, construction timelines and a guaranteed not-to-exceed price for project delivery. The project also reunites Veolia Water with Camp Dresser & McKee, the project's design engineer of record.
"We're delighted to participate in a public-private partnership with Tampa Bay Water and to assist them in this new expansion," said Stu McKenzie, president of Veolia Water North America - South. "The DBO process links the separate disciplines of design, construction and operations, and it streamlines the project delivery process to the customer's benefit. Our team has strong working knowledge of this facility and will replicate both our capital and operational success over the next 16 years."
The Tampa Bay Water Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant blends source water from the Alafia River, the Tampa Bypass Canal, the Hillsborough River and the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, delivering raw water through a 72-inch diameter pipeline to the treatment plant process equipment. Treatment elements utilize a multi-barrier process including ballasted flocculation (ACTIFLO), ozonation, filtration through granular activated carbon gravity filters, disinfection, chemical dosing and solids processing. Adjacent to the regional water treatment plant are finished-water storage tanks and a pump station that supplies water to the Tampa Bay Water member governments' distribution systems.
Planned completion and acceptance of the facility is scheduled to occur on or before December 29, 2010. The Tampa Bay Water board of directors' vote also amends the term of the original agreement through 2023 pending the acceptance and successful operation of the expanded facility in 2010.
Tampa Bay Water provides wholesale water to the public utility systems of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa. For more information, visit Tampa Bay Water's web site at www.tampabaywater.org.
Veolia Water North America - South, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Veolia Water North America, the leading provider of comprehensive water and wastewater services to municipal and industrial customers, providing services to more than 14 million people in approximately 600 communities. The company is part of Veolia Water, the No. 1 water company in the world, serving more than 108 million customers. Veolia Water is the water division of Veolia Environnement (NYSE:VE) and (Paris Bourse:VIE), the largest environmental services company in the world, with more than 300,000 employees in about 67 countries and annual revenues of EUR 28.4 billion for the 2006 fiscal year.
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Also see:
-- "Veolia Water North America hires water and wastewater expert"
-- "Veolia Water North America posts best safety statistics in history"
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