Jacobs and McCarthy Building Cos. are delving into the water sector through a joint venture in the Golden State.
The Southern California Water Reclamation District awarded a $160 million design-build contract to a joint venture formed by Dallas-based Jacobs and St. Louis, for the Torrance Groundwater Desalination Plant Expansionaccording to a November 25 press release.
The project will expand the capacity of the Robert W. Goldsworthy Desalter facility to treat up to 9 million gallons per day of additional potable water. The facility will use reverse osmosis membrane technology to remove salts from extracted groundwater and produce high-quality drinking water, according to the press release.
The initiative supports WRD’s brackish groundwater reclamation program and its broader Win 4 All initiative aimed at building resilient local water supplies. Jacobs highlighted the project’s progressive design-build contract as a way to improve efficiency and control costs.
“The progressive design-build delivery model allows us to work collaboratively to minimize costs, reduce risk, streamline construction and improve schedule performance to accelerate completion of this state-of-the-art facility” , said Katus Watson, senior vice president. to Jacobs, at launch.
The scope also includes new groundwater extraction wells and raw water pipes. The Jacobs-McCarthy team expects the facility to reach full-scale production by 2027, according to the statement.
The award is based Jacobs’ drive in the water sectoras highlighted during its recent fourth quarter report. The water projects drove double-digit growth in Jacobs’ portfolio, CEO Bob Pragada said during the company’s earnings call.
