Jacobs Wins $500m Los Angeles Sanitation Project

The company has worked for over 25 years in water design-build space and delivered over 150 design-build programs and projects.

Source : Unsplash

March 10, 2023

Author : Alex Bustillos

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) chose Dallas-based Jacobs as the advanced design-build contractor for the $500 million Donald C. Tillman Advanced Water Purification Facility.

AWPF is part of LA's long-term water management goal to wholly reuse water supplies. It is one of the most significant potable reuse projects in the country.

Water reuse projects are an attractive proposition as they can minimize or completely eliminate wastewater discharge to sensitive waterways, reduce the impacts of climate change, and create resilient local water supplies.

LA largely depends on groundwater supplies for its drinking water. The new AWPF will process tertiary effluent from the current Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant to produce filtered water that can be used to refill groundwater via the Hansen Spreading Grounds.

According to Jacobs, the project's scope of work includes designing, permitting, construction, startup, and commissioning. It will utilize advanced treatment processes like microfiltration, RO (reverse osmosis), ultraviolet, and advanced oxidation processes to purify over 15 million gallons of water daily.

This project will reduce the amount of imported water by offering a new groundwater supply source for up to 200,000 customers. Thus, the city's resiliency is increased by offering a sustainable source of drinking water in the majorly drought-stressed region.

According to Rob Williams, senior vice president of Jacobs People & Places Americas Solutions segment, water scarcity is a growing issue worldwide. Taking an innovative and collaborative approach to tackle water shortage in LA will offer a safe, sustainable, and effective way of managing water resources and addressing water scarcity issues in the state.

The Dallas-based Jacobs has served over 25 years in water design-build space and delivered over 150 design-build programs and projects. They will provide the AWPF project with a progressive design-build contract model to reduce cost and risk, streamline construction and improve schedule performance.

The project has received funding of approximately $81 million from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. WIFIA promotes investment in U.S. water infrastructure by offering long-term, inexpensive loans for water projects of regional and national significance.

There were a lot of discussions recently at the Annual WateReuse Symposium about how utilities and businesses of all sizes can benefit from water recycling, including the opportunities it can provide for underserved communities. The Symposium explained how businesses, industries, and communities can collaborate to implement water recycling programs to ensure environmental, economic, and public health resilience for diverse communities and beneficial uses, ranging from multi-agency programs to building-level treatment systems.

Category : Local Business Enterprises Local Government Public Works

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