Oregon Celebrates Grand Opening Of Wastewater Treatment Plant

The City of Wilsonville completes DBO water project on time and under budget

The City of Wilsonville, Oregon, celebrated the completion of the city’s new wastewater treatment plant on April 24. The $42M Design-Build-Operation (DBO) project, awarded to CH2M HILL, a global full-service consulting, design, construction, and operations firm in May 2011, was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

“Teamwork and collaboration are at the heart of DBO projects and was key to the successful completion of the new facility in Wilsonville,” said Joe Glicker, CH2M HILL DBO Director. “The plant’s expansion benefits the city in so many ways, and will protect the environment and help the community grow for years to come.”

Wilsonville’s wastewater treatment plant was rebuilt, upgraded and expanded to include modern wastewater treatment technology, a new odor system, and increased capacity from 2.5 to 4 million gallons per day (mgd), with future expansion capabilities to 7 mgd. The upgrade and expansion included two new structures, including a dewatering and drying building, as well as a head works building to produce Class A biosolids for land application and fertilizer.

The original facility was built in the 1970s and has undergone upgrades over the years to accommodate the city’s population growth and maintain aging equipment. The latest comprehensive upgrade and expansion project enables Wilsonville to meet the community’s current needs and future growth over the next 20 years and will ensure clean water for tomorrow by protecting the environment and improving the quality of effluent discharged to the Willamette River.

CH2M HILL took over the plant’s operations in September 2011, during the construction phase, and will continue to operate the plant for the next 20 years under the DBO contract.

The project, which is the first DBO project of its kind in Oregon, was recognized as the 2013 Environmental Project of the Year by the Oregon Chapter of the American Public Works Association.

About CH2M HILL
Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environment, nuclear, energy, facilities and urban environments. With US$6.6B in revenue and 26,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record and named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix. The firm was named Water Company of the Year at the 2012 Global Water Awards. For more information, visit www.ch2mhill.com.