The Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF) is the largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the Western United States. Originally built in 1956, it serves more than 1.4 million residents and 17,000 businesses in eight cities in Silicon Valley and unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. In 2014, the city embarked on a $2.1-billion 30-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to modernize the RWF, using design-build for a significant portion of the program. Given the intricacy of the project, the city determined that Progressive Design-Build would be the best option.
This complex project was thoroughly planned out through the pre-procurement from the Owner and excellent execution of the design-build best practices helped in making it successful. The team also incorporated a VDC Manager role in their operations. The Owner of this project has used design-build for a significant portion of their capital improvement program, showing a high level of mastery in design-build.
Reducing Energy for More Sustainable Results
It was important for the team to find ways to cut down on the amount of energy required for the headworks pumping. To do this, the process sequence for the facility was changed by placing pumping before grit removal; this allowed for a higher hydraulic grade line and reduced pumping energy. In addition, with the modified hydraulic grade line, they were able to reduce the quantities of concrete used by building shallower structures.
Design-Build Team
| Client/Owner: | City of San Josė ESD |
| Design-Build Firm: | Jacobs |
| General Contractor: | Kiewit Corporation |
| Architect: | Jacobs |
| Engineer: | Jacobs |
| Specialty Contractors: | Western Services |
| Owner Advisor: | Stantec |
| Project Cost: | $140,800,000 |
| Construction Duration: | 33 Months |
Photos
