American Water Works Company Inc. (www.amwater.com), the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company, won the 2008 National Design-Build Award from the Design-Build Institute (www.dbia.org) for the Lake Pleasant Water Treatment Plant in Phoenix.
Recognized in the “water/wastewater over $15 million” category for combining architecture, engineering and construction under one contract, Phoenix”s Lake Pleasant Water Treatment Plant was built to address one of the nation”s fastest growing metropolitan area”s water needs. The city of Phoenix selected the design-build-operate (DBO) team of American Water Enterprises, Inc., a subsidiary of American Water, and the Black & Veatch-McCarthy joint-venture design-build team.
“The city of Phoenix decided in the early 90”s that it wanted to proactively address the future water supply needs for its citizens,” said Adam McDonough, vice president of Contract Operations for American Water, in a prepared statement. “Working with our partners, in 2007, we opened a state-of-the-art plant that serves 400,000 customers and has a capacity to treat 80 million gallons of water per day.”
The plant incorporates the latest in modern water treatment technology and automation and is the largest design-build-operate project in North America, according to American Water. The facility, designed to blend seamlessly into the desert landscape without disturbing the natural beauty of the area, includes an intake structure, pumping station and 90-inch diameter pipeline to deliver raw water 2.3 miles from the source to the treatment site. American Water will operate and maintain the facility for 15 years, with an option for an additional five years.
