Water utilities have quickly realized the pressures of delivering quality product to consumers in a changing environment. The potable water needs of society have begun to stress the infrastructure that has served consumers sufficiently for many years. Water utility companies now face solutions that have become influenced by changing regulations, a growing population and greater technical challenges.
Current Water/Wastewater Solutions Are More Challenging
With those issues as a backdrop, the water/wastewater industry has found progressive design-build (PDB) a good fit in delivering capital project solutions. The current landscape of water/wastewater projects provides a multitude of examples of how PDB leads to better outcomes.
So what is it about PDB that makes it such an attractive delivery method to owners within the water/wastewater industry? Simply put, PDB allows customers to realize both short-term and long-term lifecycle cost benefits.
The Progressive Design-Build Process
The PDB process inherently provides a continual set of check points actively involving owners as the project progresses. Here are the steps in the PDB delivery model:
- Evaluate Options – Evaluation includes costs, efficacy of solutions and long-term results. Customers determine what’s “best” based upon their specific needs.
- Isolate the Ideal Solution – A list of options affords customers the opportunity to understand implementation details and how they relate to their overall objectives. This includes considering the approved budget and available resources moving forward.
- Optimize the Solution – Once the solution has been chosen, the contractor incorporates what they’ve learned about the customer and their needs during the evaluation phase. Customers get an opportunity to approve final costs and maintain the ability to pursue alternative options.
- Deliver the Solution – The contractor completes the project with a much more certain understanding of customer expectations.
JEA: An Example of Progressive Design-Build Benefits
JEA utilized the PDB delivery model with its Main Street Water Treatment Plant. The utility wanted to ensure that it could continue to provide the highest quality potable water to its service area. Particularly, JEA wanted to remove hydrogen sulfide from the water supply. Hydrogen sulfide causes an unpleasant odor, tarnishes copper and silver and can cause staining to laundry. As the design-builder, Haskell investigated viable options for hydrogen sulfide odor control. In the process, they determined that a novel use of existing ozone filtration technology could solve the problem. Selecting ozone technology − normally used as an oxidant − would in this instance provide superior results in controlling odor. In addition, the benefits could be provided at an ideal cost that improved the overall lifecycle costs of the solution.
Does Design-Build Meet Your Water Project Needs?
Wondering if PDB delivery can benefit your water/wastewater project? Take a moment to talk with one of Haskell’s industry experts. You can contact Bryan Bedell via email or call him direct at 904.791.4662.
