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Donohue & Associates, Inc. received a 2010 Engineering Excellence Best of State award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin (ACEC WI) for the planning, design, and construction of innovative improvements to South Milwaukee’s water treatment facility.
ACEC WI recognizes engineering accomplishments through its annual Engineering Excellence Awards. The statewide competition recognizes engineering achievements that demonstrate a high degree of client satisfaction through quality and cost effective solutions. The South Milwaukee Water Utility has one of the oldest water treatment plants along the Lake Michigan shoreline and desired a higher level of water quality that would meet the drinking water needs for not only today but the next generation of South Milwaukee residents. The Utility challenged Donohue to convert its existing sand filtration process to a state-of-the-art ultra-filtration pressurized membrane system, the first of its kind in Wisconsin. The membrane technology provides a verifiable barrier against viruses, turbidity, suspended solids, and pathogen contamination of the City’s drinking water supply.
A creative design layout made extensive use of existing buildings, as all new systems were placed within the confines of the existing footprint. The construction cost for a typical membrane water filtration plant is $2-$3/gallon of water treated, but through Donohue’s reuse of existing facilities, the project cost approximately $1.40/gallon. The system has the capacity to treat 6 million gallons per day.
Also of note is the complex construction sequencing that allowed the plant to continuously treat water while the facilities underwent a complete transformation during construction.
Douglas Fischer, South Milwaukee Water Utility Superintendent, summed up his thoughts on this project by stating, “Our new facilities are working great and the water quality is amazing. Donohue’s creative solutions to the design and construction challenges posed by the project constraints made this possible.” |
