AAEES Awards GWRS Initial Expansion
The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES) honored the Groundwater Replenishment System Initial Expansion with an Honor Award in the Design category. Awards were presented at the Academy’s Excellence in Environmental Engineering & Science™ (E3S) Award Ceremony and Luncheon held in Washington, DC, in April.
Black & Veatch, who received the award, provided preliminary and final design as the structural, civil, electrical and mechanical engineer for the Initial Expansion of the GWRS. The GWRS Initial Expansion managing agency was the Orange County Water District, and the primary contractor was McCarthy Building Companies. The GWRS is a joint project of the Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District.
According to the AAEES, The Excellence in Environmental Engineering and Science™ Competition exists to identify and reward the best of today’s environmental engineering and science. Its criteria define what it takes to be the best in environmental engineering and science practices: a holistic environmental perspective, innovation, proven performance and customer satisfaction, and contribution to an improved quality of life and economic efficiency.
The Initial Expansion of the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS), which went online in 2015, made the world’s largest advanced water purification system for potable reuse bigger and better. The expansion featured several key developments to optimize the performance of the existing advanced water purification facility. The Initial Expansion included enhancements to the post-treatment and RO systems as well as a concept to equalize secondary effluent flow to maximize GWRS capacity. In addition, it increased output from 70 million gallons per day (mgd) to 100 mgd.