Montevina Water Treatment Plant Improvements

Photo Credit: HDR

The Montevina Water Treatment Plant (WTP) provides water to more than 1 million customers throughout Silicon Valley. The plant is San Jose Water Company’s largest surface water treatment facility with a capacity of 30-MGD. For 50 years, the Montevina plant struggled to treat high turbidity water during winter storms, when water is plentiful. Now, with state-of-the-art membrane treatment technology, the plant can treat water up to 100 nephelometric turbidity units regularly. Montevina now features the largest U.S. installation of BASF/Inge’s ultrafiltration fiber technology and the first in California. Laid end-to-end, the ultrafiltration fibers at Montevina could stretch from San Jose to Chicago. The ultrafiltration technology selection process saved the water company’s customers $1 million, allowing the team to include a new administration building and stay within the CPUC approved budget.

Engaged Owner and Creative Team

Progressive Design-Build allowed the water company to work in a collaborative environment with its design-build team to create a project that met the utility’s needs and fit within its fixed budget. It was through this collaborative design-build environment that San Jose Water and HDR were able to innovate and work through the challenges faced during the four­year project. Other innovative solutions implemented included a new plant exit to improve safety, re-purposing existing concrete structures, utilizing screw press technology to reduce solids disposal traffic in the nearby residential neighborhood, and conducting partnering and technical workshops which resulted in a highly collaborative environment between.

Design-Build Team