The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Colorado has recognized the Rueter-Hess Water Purification Facility (RHWPF) with a 2017 Engineering Excellence Award. The award, presented on November 7 in Denver, enables the innovative treatment plant project to advance to ACEC’s national competition early next year.
The RHWPF, located in Parker, serves a community of approximately 50,000 residents in a 43-square-mile area southeast of Denver. Designed by Dewberry, the $51.5 million plant uses new technologies that have enabled the Parker Water and Sanitation District (PWSD) to convert from rapidly declining groundwater sources to a renewable water supply, including surface water, groundwater, alluvial well water, and reclaimed wastewater. The breakthrough technology includes the first application of a ceramic membrane filtration system for a drinking water system in the U.S. The project was previously honored with a national award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES).
The 10-MGD treatment plant is incrementally expandable to 40 MGD. The new network also features a 50-CFS pump station that brings surface water from nearby Cherry Creek and Cherry Creek alluvial wells into the 72,000-acre-foot Rueter-Hess Reservoir, completed in 2012.
Criteria for the ACEC-Colorado award included innovation; future value to the engineering profession; perception by the public; social, economic and sustainable development considerations; complexity; and successful fulfillment of client and owner’s needs, including schedule and budget.
In addition to Dewberry, the project team included Western Summit Constructors, Inc. as the primary contractor, Garney-Weaver for construction management, and Kruger, Inc. for the ballasted sedimentation and ceramic membrane filter technologies. Lintjer + Haywood Architects provided architecture for the facility; Integrated Solutions Engineering provided electrical engineering; and Shaffer Baucom Engineering & Consulting provided HVAC and plumbing engineering. Norris Design provided landscape and irrigation design.
