Construction Begins On Orange County Water District's Initial Expansion Of The Groundwater Replenishment System

McCarthy recently began construction of the Initial Expansion of the Groundwater Replenishment System for the Orange County Water District (OCWD). Located at the OCWD Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF) on Ward Street in Fountain Valley, Calif., the $142.7M project will create an additional 31,000 acre-feet per year (AFY) of new water supplies to serve north and central Orange County. Once completed, the AWFP's total production will reach 103,000 AFY, enough water for 850,000 people.

A formal groundbreaking event with local, county and state elected officials, water retail agencies and representatives from the design firm and construction team was held on January 17, marking the start of the project. Guest speakers included Claudia C. Alvarez, Esq., President, Orange County Water District; Roger C. Yoh, P.E., Board Member, Orange County Water District and Chair, GWRS Steering Committee; and Larry Crandall, Chair, Orange County Sanitation District and Vice Chair, GWRS Steering Committee. Immediately following the presentation, officials and project team members used ceremonial shovels to break ground where the expansion will take place.

"The GWRS established the benchmark for international water projects and water reuse technology," said OCWD General Manager Mike Markus. "Most importantly, the GWRS has provided a reliable, locally-controlled source of water for Orange County during a time when the availability of imported water is decreasing while its cost is increasing. We live in a naturally arid region. The GWRS Expansion will provide us with the water supply reliability that we need, while creating hundreds of local jobs that will benefit Orange County's economy through the development, construction and operation of the project. In short, it's the perfect project at the perfect time."

The GWRS, a joint project of OCWD and Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD), takes highly treated wastewater that would have normally been discharged into the Pacific Ocean and purifies it through a three-step process that includes microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide. 35 million gallons of near-distilled quality GWRS water per day is pumped into injection wells where it serves as a seawater intrusion barrier. Another 35 million gallons per day is pumped in a 13-mile long pipe to OCWD recharge basins in Anaheim, California. The GWRS water then filters through sand and gravel to replenish the deep aquifers of Orange County's groundwater basin and ultimately becomes part of the drinking water supply.

Serving as general contractor for the expansion, McCarthy will construct a 30 million gallon per day (MGD) treatment facility expanding the 70 MGD GWRS that was completed in 2008. Parsons of Pasadena is construction manager for the project and Black and Veatch of Irvine is the structural, civil, electrical and mechanical engineer.

The project entails expansion of the existing microfiltration facility by constructing eight new below-grade treatment basins and enlarging the existing basement facility. Other work includes construction of a new 32,000-square-foot reverse osmosis building, the installation of five new ultraviolet light (UV) treatment trains to match the existing systems, as well as retrofitting the existing post treatment systems to employ a new lime feed system. McCarthy will also construct two above ground steel tanks, each is 215 feet in diameter with a height of 35 feet and a capacity to hold 7.5 million gallons of water.

"The project will be carefully executed in order to mitigate any disruptions to the existing plant while conducting a complex facility expansion with significant construction challenges," said McCarthy project manager Curtis Horner. "The microfiltration facility is a very complicated water bearing structure tucked into an extremely tight footprint. This 30 foot deep structure is bordered on all four sides just beyond the limits of construction by existing structures and piping. The excavations and concrete durations alone will take approximately 14 months to complete."

The Reverse Osmosis building also provides project challenges explained Horner. "The RO facility is located in an area bordered by the existing facility, a substation, a pumping area and another building. Furthermore, the structure will sit on more than 200 piles with a long, extensive concrete scope followed by extensive mechanical work."

The GWRS is the largest advanced water treatment facility of its kind in the world and has garnered more than 35 regional, state and international awards including the prestigious American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2009 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award for the year's most outstanding national engineering project, and the Stockholm 2008 Industry Award for the year's most outstanding international water project.

"We are proud to be a part of this complex and vital project to mitigate the challenges associated with an otherwise dwindling water supply in Orange County," said Mark Mardock McCarthy Executive Vice President. It's exciting to not only be involved with an internationally renowned project, but also helping to provide a environmentally responsible, reliable and safe source of water which is critical to the public health and economy of Orange County."

Construction work is scheduled to complete in September 2014.

For more information about the project, go to www.gwrsystem.com.

About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation's largest commercial construction companies and a leading water treatment facility builder. With nearly 150 years of experience, McCarthy is committed to the construction of high performance buildings. The company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for water treatment, healthcare, education, parking, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; and bridges and highways. In addition to Newport Beach, McCarthy has offices in San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas; Houston; St. Louis and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. For more information, visit www.mccarthy.com.

About Orange County Water District
Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages the large groundwater basin that underlies north and central Orange County that provides most of the water for about 2.4 million citizens. OCWD is committed to enhancing Orange County's groundwater quality and reliability in an environmentally friendly manner. With more than 75 years of prudent planning and careful investment, OCWD has doubled the sustainable yield of the groundwater basin. OCWD is a special district established by the California State Legislature in 1933 and governed by a 10-member board of directors. Separate from the County of Orange, OCWD supplies water to residents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminsterand Yorba Linda. Go to www.ocwd.com for information. For more information, visit www.ocwd.com.

About Orange County Sanitation District
The Orange County Sanitation District is a public agency responsible for safely collecting and treating wastewater (sewage) for 2.5 million people. OCSD beneficially reuses and recycles the treated wastewater and other resources resulting from the treatment process. It is a special district established by the California State Legislature and governed by a 25-member board of directors. The directors are comprised of elected representatives for each of the sewer agencies or cities within OCSD's 471-square mile service area. For more information, visit www.ocsd.com.

SOURCE: McCarthy