WASHINGTON, DC, March 14, 2014 -- The New York City-based team of Hazen and Sawyer and Montgomery Watson Harza has earned a National Recognition Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) in the 48th annual Engineering Excellence Awards for exemplary engineering achievement in assisting the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with its Advanced Wastewater Treatment Program.
Faced with the challenge of upgrading six wastewater treatment plants to meet strict nitrogen discharge standards for the East River and Jamaica Bay, DEP needed an effective technology that would be cost-effective to both integrate and operate. After determining that biological nutrient removal (BNR) was the ideal option, the project team's design guidance provided a unified basis that created a healthier environment for all New York City residents, led to consistently achieving nitrogen discharge standards, and resulted in billions of dollars in savings.
The project is among 143 engineering projects throughout the nation and the world recognized by ACEC as preeminent engineering achievements for 2013. Judging for the Engineering Excellence Awards -- known as the "Academy Awards of the engineering industry" -- took place in February, conducted by a panel of more than 30 engineers, architects, government officials, media members, and academics. Criteria for the awards include uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, complexity, and success in meeting goals.
Final top winners, including 16 Honor Awards, eight Grand Awards and the prestigious "Grand Conceptor Award" for the year's most outstanding overall engineering achievement, will be announced at the Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.
About ACEC
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America's engineering industry, representing more than 5,000 independent engineering firms and more than 325,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America's transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations. For more information, visit www.acec.org.
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