Black & Veatch-Designed Minneapolis Water Treatment Facility Wins Global Water Award

Kansas City, MO — Black & Veatch, a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company, won the prestigious Water Project of the Year award at the 2006 Global Water Awards for the Columbia Heights Membrane Ultrafiltration Plant, located near Minneapolis, Minn. With a current capacity of 70 million-gallons-per-day (264,979 cubic-meters-per-day) and an ultimate capacity of 78 mgd (295,262 m³/day), the Columbia Heights membrane filtration plant is the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and represents the leading edge in membrane filtration technology for potable water.

The Minneapolis Water Works contracted with Black & Veatch to provide study, design, construction, training and startup services for the facility to meet the challenge of more rigorous regulatory standards. The project is already influencing emerging trends in water treatment facility design and pointing the way to increased effectiveness, economy, size and sophistication of membrane filtration facilities around the world.

"The Columbia Heights plant has further established membrane ultrafiltration as an economically viable technology for microbial pathogen removal and multiple-barrier protection at a reasonable cost," said Chad Hill, Black & Veatch project director.

Source water drawn directly from the Mississippi River receives numerous discharges in the watershed including agricultural runoff, power plant cooling water and effluent from sewage treatment plants. Columbia Height's ultrafiltration fiber pores are 10 times smaller than conventional microfiltration pores, and they provide a physical barrier against developing risks to water quality including viruses and the smallest pathogens. The fiber pores have the capability to remove viruses 3 percent the size of Cryptosporidium.

"We're delighted to receive a Global Water Award for this pace-setting facility," said Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of B&V Water. "The project sets new benchmarks for the innovative and economical application of ultrafiltration in water treatment."

This year's awards ceremony was held March 6 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The award winners are chosen from votes cast by subscribers to Water Desalination Report and Global Water Intelligence and members of the International Desalination Association.

SOURCE: Black & Veatch