The city of Waterbury, Conn., has selected Jacobs Construction Company to operate and maintain its 38-million-gallon-per-day conventional surface water treatment plant, according to a company press release.
The City estimates the value of the 10-year contract to be $25 million. Jacobs’ scope of work includes engineering services and support for improvements to the overall facility, sludge system, water quality laboratory and treatment process, according to the release.
This improved treatment will be achieved through upgrades to the chemical dosing system, water filtration and sludge handling facilities, said Greg Fischer, vice president of operations, maintenance, facility services and design for Jacobs.
“Jacobs has spent decades building our reputation as a leader in water, and our programmatic delivery model, which includes consulting, engineering, operations, maintenance and smart technology applications, provides end-to-end customer service,” said Fischer . “More importantly, it benefits consumers because it allows the city to provide better water quality, more reliably and at lower cost.”
The Dallas-based construction company will also improve digital maintenance management through supervisory control systems, data acquisition and telemetry as part of the contract. Jacobs began full plant operations and maintenance in July 2023, according to the release.
Water construction increases in 2023
Water-related construction was up 10% year-on-year in July, according to the the latest builders and associated contractors analysis
This strong level of activity, along with the risks of climate change, led Jacobs to identify recently water infrastructure as an area of opportunity earlier this summer, said Luce Bassetti, director of coastal resilience for the Americas at Jacobs.
In the past, the Dallas-based contractor has supported projects such as the Thames Tideway Tunnel, the largest water infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK, the Central Interceptor, the New Zealand’s largest wastewater treatment plant, Singapore’s Tuas water reclamation plant and the Donald C. Tillman Advanced Water Purification Facility in Los Angeles.
Jacobs’ work in water-related construction earned the contractor the No. 1 spot in the ENR 2023 Top 500 ranking for wastewater treatment, while it comes in at number 2 for construction and water treatment projects.
