Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, announced that it has been selected in Polk County, located in Central Florida, for two engineering contracts, one for stormwater infrastructure improvements within the Peace River Watershed and a second for the Waverly Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF). Both projects are funded through investments provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
As part of the Peace River Watershed contract, the firm
will perform design to construction engineering services of projects to increase
resilience, improve water quality, mitigate flooding, and benefit the natural
system. Dewberry’s project approach leverages One Water design principles to
restore historic wetlands floodplain and realize multiple water resources
benefits. Dewberry will collaborate with the county to design and implement
projects to protect and restore Polk County’s natural resources.
Under the Waverley Wastewater Treatment Facility
contract, Dewberry will develop options to either decommission the plant or
enhance the existing facility to ease operations, which will save the county
and its taxpayers significant funds in the years to come in both capital costs
and in operation and maintenance costs. The project includes lining the
collection system to reduce inflow and infiltration, which reduces maintenance
costs and protects the county’s pipe and pumping systems.
“As Polk County continues to grow, we’re thrilled to assist
the region with these important ARPA-funded contracts to increase the resilience
of our infrastructure and support the needs of the utility programs that are
critical to protect public health and the environment as needs of Central
Florida evolve,” says Dewberry Vice President Robert Beltran, PE, BCEE.
