AWWA ACE61851

This paper presents the D/B experiences of an engineering firm (as prime contractor) and general contractor (as subcontractor) to meet the water and wastewater treatment needs of a small utility in Elberton, Georgia. This contract arrangement was selected in order to meet tight schedules for the implementation of several small unit processes, and to increase efficiencies and thereby reduce project costs by allowing the general contractor to coordinate directly with their various subcontractors. The City of Elberton Utilities Department has one conventional water treatment plant (WTP) with a rated capacity of 3.1 million gallons per day (MGD) which was originally built in 1952 and has had very few minor upgrades since. The two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are rated at 0.6 and 0.9 MGD, and were originally constructed in the early 1970s. The larger of the two WWTPs was expanded in the early 1990s, whereas the smaller had not been upgraded at all. Both the WTP and WWTPs had a number of obsolete mechanical systems, structural deterioration and process deficiencies with respect to current treatment standards. The plants were in need of modifications to address the above deficiencies and to increase reliability and operating performance for a minimum fifteen year period. This paper provides a summary of the water and wastewater treatment facility improvements that were performed in a phased approach and discusses in detail the advantages realized using D/B versus the D/B/B method, as well as some of the difficulties that were overcome during the project.