Thanksgiving came early for 12 Lauderdale Manors families who were recipients of the annual WaterWorks 2011 Thanksgiving Box Giveaway.
 
WaterWorks 2011 staff members spent a lunch hour assembling  the Thanksgiving boxes for the families to enjoy. The boxes contained items donated by the staff including cranberry sauce, stuffing, marshmallows, gravy, and an assortment of canned vegetables and non-perishable goods.

 

The addition of membrane technology to the 82-year-old Walter E. Peele-Dixie Water Treatment Plant in Florida has been recognized with two awards for successful delivery of construction management services. The upgrade was completed in November 2007 as part of the City of Fort Lauderdale’s WaterWorks 2011 capital improvement program, for which CH2M HILL is program manager.

Members of the project team were on hand in October to receive a Project Achievement Award from the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) during the organization’s National Conference and Trade Show in San Francisco. Peele-Dixie was named the top project in the Program Phase—Infrastructure category. The new 12-million-gallon-per-day (mgd) nanofiltration reverse osmosis (RO) membrane finished water facility replaced an existing lime softening treatment process. The project was successfully completed during a record-setting hurricane season that included Hurricane Wilma in the first year of construction.

In addition, Southeast Construction magazine named the $26.6 million Peele-Dixie expansion as the “Best Civil” project in that magazine’s annual “Best of 2008” projects competition. A separate jury reviewed 129 nominated projects and selected 21 winners. The winning projects were profiled in the magazine’s December issue, and an awards luncheon was held December 2 in Orlando.

The new membrane facility was designed to include a 10-mgd future RO component without building expansion. The project scope included a separate chemical building, two air strippers, clear well, transfer pump station, high-service pump station, two emergency generator facilities with fuel storage tanks, two 4 million-gallon concrete water storage tanks, security wall and fence, and ancillary facilities.

The Peele-Dixie project team included CH2M HILL as construction manager, Hazen and Sawyer as the design engineer, and The Poole and Kent Company as the contractor.

The devastation left by Hurricane Ike in Haiti has led many associated with the WaterWorks 2011 program in Fort Lauderdale to donate money and supplies to the country. For the past three weeks, employees worked closely to manage an in-office hurricane relief effort to raise money and donated canned and packaged goods for the victims in Haiti.  

 

“Knowing the situation in Haiti, we knew we needed to get local help for the Haitian people,” explained Natacha Brea, one of the hurricane relief organizers whose parents are Haitian Nationals. “It felt good to see America place a national spotlight on the situation in Haiti and to be a part of the overwhelming support the Haitian people received from the U.S.”

 

Pierre Marcellus, CH2M HILL Project Consultant working as WaterWorks 2011 Construction Program Manager, agrees.  “My mother’s home was damaged during the storm and the homes of many of my cousins were destroyed,” Marcellus said. “It is a very difficult time for them because they lost everything including the roads and the bridges to travel.”

 

Marcellus said it took him days to make contact with his family and to help them; so, he knows how important such donations are for many other Haitian families who really need assistance as well. With the food and money raised through WaterWorks 2011, several families can receive assistance in the devastated areas.    

 

In addition to Brea, members of the ADCOM subcommittee for the WaterWorks 2011 Haitian Relief Hurricane Effort included Stacey Smith, Angela Thayer, and Sheanita Williams who culminated the event by commenting, “When people are in need, people do care. They do help. And I was pleased to see it at the office.”

WaterWorks 2011 recently held a special neighborhood meeting with the property owners residing east of SW 11 Avenue in Riverside Park. The meeting took place in the streets of the neighborhood where a fairly new technique of construction called ArrowBore will take place beginning September 2008.

 

Nearly 30 residents - representing the 42 properties in the construction zone - gathered to hear from GlobeTec Construction about how the new type of directional drilling technique may impact them over the next two months.

 

According to the company’s project manager, Anthony Guglielmi, ArrowBore requires minimum excavation and less equipment than a traditional open trench method. Thus, it will create less community disruption. People who have lived through a construction project will notice the difference between the open-cut construction – the type of construction most people see throughout their neighborhoods -  and this directional drilling technique. ArrowBore does not require that roads are extensively torn up to install the sanitary sewer pipes below ground. The only place where the construction company disturbs the roadway is at the location of a manhole installation, the entry point of the excavation and the individual lateral installations.  In addition, the construction equipment for ArrowBore is smaller in size, taking up less space within the roadway and allowing easier motor vehicle travel around the work area. GlobeTec is currently the only company in the State of Florida licensed to perform the ArrowBore construction method.

 

The members of the project team at the meeting in addition to the construction company included the Construction Manager Gary Cartwright (CH2M HILL), Area Inspector David Jimenez (CMTS), Public Relations Manager Traci Pollock (DCS) and  City Design Team Manager Tim Ashmore (City of Fort Lauderdale).  Tod Sloan, one of the property owners, helped to organize the meeting.

 

 

Equipped with state of the art computerized equipment and the latest in water filtration systems, the City of Fort Lauderdale is providing residents with a higher quality of drinking water  and a larger water storage facilities as a part of its Water and Wastewater Capital Improvements Program, WaterWorks 2011.

 

In May, the new $26 million Walter E. Peele Dixie Water Treatment Plant started distributing drinking water to thousands of residents and businesses in the surrounding neighborhoods. The plant uses the latest technology to filter, treat and generate clean, clear water for the area using a membrane technology called nanofiltration.

 

“When the plant started distributing water, residents did not notice a significant difference,” City of Fort Lauderdale’s Regional Water Facilities Manager Rick Johnson said. “There was just a slight change in color and hardness.”

 

The City decided to switch from lime softening to a more modern pressurized membrane treatment process often used to treat hard, brackish water from the Biscayne Aquifer. By using nanofiltration technology, an increasing level of contaminates are removed from the well water reducing its hardness and producing clearer water.

 

“For residents, this means that the water has less color and is softer,” Johnson explained. “People may notice that soap will lather up more when cleaning.”

 

With the installation of the membrane system, the City now has a multi-barrier system against contamination. This system operates at an 85 percent recovery rate of drinking water with only 15 percent of remaining substance going to waste. 

 

The City started the construction of the new facility in 2005 to ensure continued compliance with federal water supply guidelines. Like other cities across the country, the City’s water supply at the old plant was exposed to environmental conditions such as birds, tree frogs and other wildlife that made it vulnerable to contamination. To eliminate such atmospheric conditions and ensure it continues to comply with increasingly restrictive water regulations and standards, the City built a completely enclosed plant.

 

The new facility is adjacent to the old Peele Dixie treatment plant, which recently underwent a major preservation/renovation project at its 1500 S. State Road 7 location. The new construction project included the installation of new water mains, onsite water storage facilities, stainless steal pipes and single purpose buildings for post-treatment chemicals and emergency power generation. The two 4 million gallon finished water storage tanks provide additional capacity for periods of high demand. Future upgrades will increase the plant’s capacity to deliver up to 18 million gallons a day to the surrounding neighborhoods. Nearby cities that also use membrane treatment technologies include Hollywood, Plantation, and Sunrise.

WaterWorks 2011 participated in the Green Living Expo on Saturday, April 26, 2008, at Stranahan Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale. WaterWorks 2011 staff spoke with several attendees about the program's eco-friendly practices including recycling and energy efficient technologies.

 

WaterWorks 2011 also held a plant give-away for local residents who live in WaterWorks 2011 construction areas. Winners of the plant give-away were Hadny F. (Shady Banks),  Rebecca A., Louis U. (Shady Banks), and Bryan F. (Shady Banks).  Karly Gee pulled the names of the winners.

 

The Expo was hosted by the City of Fort Lauderdale Utility Advisory Committee and the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club, Inc.

 

The basic mission statement of the WaterWorks 2011 program is, “To provide a premiere utility infrastructure for the sustainable future of our community.” Since its inception in 2001, WaterWorks has been utilizing eco-friendly practices in its environmental, social and economic performance.

 

“What we have been doing for the past seven years, while certainly disruptive . . ., contributes to the long-term sustainability of the City of Fort Lauderdale,” WaterWorks 2011 Chief Engineer Walt Schwarz explained. 

 

Those concepts of sustainability are embodied by the Best Management Practices that the City and its consultants employ. Examples of these practices at work in the WaterWorks program are described in the collection of Frequently Asked Questions below.

 

My septic tank works great. Why has the City decided to build sewers?
Septic tanks can appear to work well for a long time, but over time, and particularly in congested areas, they begin to have unacceptable impacts upon groundwater and adjacent surface waters. There are tremendous amounts of chemicals in everyday household products that get used and then poured down a sink or bath drain. With a septic system, if these chemicals are not bio-degradable, they ultimately find their way into the environment (ground and surface water). 

 

Is the WaterWorks 2011 program energy efficient?
Contractors use trenchless technologies where feasible to minimize disruption. This type of construction uses less energy intensity because there is less digging involved. Also, energy efficient pumps and motors are being installed to replace old, outdated equipment.

 

What are ways WaterWorks helps to reduce waste?
Under the WaterWorks program, leaking water mains are being replaced to reduce waste of treated drinking water. Likewise, leaking sewers are being replaced or relined to reduce the amount of wastewater that needs to be pumped and treated.

 

What part does automation have to play in the WaterWorks 2011 program?
The use of automation and remote control and sensing is being implemented to reduce the need for operators to work in hazardous environments.

 

What is value engineering and how does WaterWorks 2011 use it?
The program uses value engineering of major project components to ensure that public dollars are being spent wisely and efficiently.

 

Does the WaterWorks 2011 Program Management Office recycle?
WaterWorks uses web-based technologies, e-mail and digital formats wherever possible to reduce the use of office paper. In addition, recycling bins are conveniently located around the office for staff to utilize.

 For the last four years, WaterWorks 2011 has sponsored a bid competition for juniors in the Stranahan High School Science/Pre-Engineering Magnet Program. For the contest, students must prepare a mock construction bid package for a WaterWorks sewer construction project. The program allows students to become more familiar with WaterWorks as they learn about the ‘real world’ of engineering and cost estimating.

 

About a dozen Stranahan seniors who participated in the bid competition last year, were invited to the WaterWorks 2011 Program Management Office on Wednesday, March 5, for an informal business luncheon.

   “It’s the year they’re going to college,” said Annachiara d’Ettorre, a WaterWorks construction manager who has served as coordinator for the bid competition for the last three years. According to d’Ettorre, the luncheon was an opportunity for students to ask industry experts about topics that will help them as they take the next step to becoming an engineer.

   The WaterWorks’ staff offered the students many practical suggestions for becoming a successful engineer. Among them were mastering time management, writing well and joining engineering organizations.

   Students were very appreciative of the time the staff spent talking with them. They also enjoyed being a part of the bid competition last year.

 

     “It made us understand what [WaterWorks’ engineers] go through,” said Domenique Lumpkin, 17, who would like to pursue a career as a civil engineer. “We worked really hard.”

    “It was a wake up call,” said Jose Zavala. The 17-year-old explained that the bid competition provided a very “real-world” glimpse into engineering. Zavala would like to attend the engineering program at Georgia Institute of Technology, d’Ettorre’s alma mater. 

 

The bid competition made Patrick Campbell, 18, realize that he was not interested in civil engineering. Instead, he would like to become an electrical engineer.

For Cloyd Jack, 17, who has already been accepted to the engineering program at Florida Atlantic University, the bid competition reaffirmed his desire to become an engineer. “I like the fact that (the competition allowed) you to get down and solve problems. I like to solve problems,” he said.
 
And that, according to Schwarz, is one of the traits of a successful engineer. “Your value to a company,” Schwarz said, “is how you can solve problems.”

All around town, new signs clearly identify Waterworks 2011 construction sites. The 18 x 24 black and white placards boldly display the Waterworks 2011 Call Center telephone number. The web address is also included. The signs are located at the many construction sites throughout the City of Fort Lauderdale.

 

The signs are part of a continued commitment of Waterworks 2011 to inform residents of Fort Lauderdale about the water and wastewater capital improvement program.

 

Other ways Waterworks notifies the public are through:

 Traffic and Road Closure Updates

 Regular Construction Updates e-mailed to residents and posted on the Waterworks 2011 website
 Project Fact Sheets and Brochures
 Door Hangers
 Monthly Visits to Civic Organizations
 Press Releases
 Quarterly Newsletters
 FAQ’s
 Sewer Connection Notifications

If you have questions or if you would like periodic updates about the construction in your community, please call Waterworks 2011 at 954-522-2604 or visit www.waterworks2011.com.

For the fourth year in a row, WaterWorks 2011 is hosting its annual bid competition for high school juniors enrolled in an engineering magnet program at one of the area schools. Each year, the magnet students at Stranahan High School participate in a three-month interactive bidding competition to obtain hands-on experience in the field of engineering. 

The competition allows students to become more familiar with the WaterWorks 2011 program while learning about the practical side of engineering and cost estimating. In addition, CH2M HILL donates $500 for the engineering magnet program. This program is conducted by volunteers from the WaterWorks 2011 program at no cost to the City.

 

The competition provides an opportunity for students in Stranahan High School’s Engineering Magnet Program to learn about the various types of careers associated with large municipal construction programs and provides the students with practical experience forming teams, reading and understanding plans and specifications, and preparing construction bid submittals.  The competition also includes a public outreach component for which students develop brochures, a website and a commercial about the project. The winning team will be recognized at the City Commission meeting in April.

Many projects are scheduled to be completed and will await certification during the first quarter of 2008. These projects include:

 

Flamingo Park - Area 4 Basin BC – Provided for the installation of about 4,100 LF of gravity sewer with manholes and appurtenances.
 
D40/41 PS - Birch Road/Vista Mar – Approximately 6,200 feet of force main was replaced. Two existing dry pit wastewater pump stations were rehabilitated.

 

PS - Group I - A11, B8, D47, E5, D39 – This project consisted of the installation of five new submersible wastewater pumping stations, demolition, salvage, and the abandonment of five existing pump stations.

 

PS - Group II - A9, B6, B5, B13 – This project consisted of the installation of two new submersible wastewater pump stations, demolition, salvage, and abandonment of two existing wastewater pump stations, and the retrofit and rehabilitation of two dry-pit wastewater pump stations with wet well rehabilitation.

 

Fiveash Filter Rehabilitation - Phase I – There were various improvements to: the Clearwell Interconnect, filter upgrades, lime system, hydrotreator valves, polymer system, strikedown valves, flow meters, sludge system, aerator valves, ammonia system, and the North High service pumps.

 

Peele Dixie WTP Pkg B – This work included the construction and equipping of the membrane facility, finished water facilities, high service pump station, emergency generator facility and fuel storage tanks, two pre-stressed concrete, four million gallon water storage tanks, and ancillary facilities at the Peele-Dixie Water Treatment Plant.

 

Riverside Park – Area 1 Basin B – This project provided for the installation of approximately 16,000 LF of gravity sewer with manholes and appurtenances. About 1,800 LF of force main and 760 LF of water main with appurtenances were also installed.

 

Three new Waterworks 2011 projects are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2008. They include the Riverland Area 2 East (SE) Basin A/C project. Sanitary sewer construction for this project began in January. The project consists of installing 26,300 linear feet (LF) of gravity sewer, 98 manholes, 3785 LF of force main. The other two projects scheduled to start are both Fiveash projects. One, Fiveash Pkg. C deals with the oil separator and fence. The other, Fiveash Pkg. F, deals with the storage tank demolition.