McAlpine Creek Wastewater Management Facility Reliability and Process Improvements

The McAlpine Creek Wastewater Management Facility, originally built in the 1960s and the largest of Charlotte Water’s five treatment plants, underwent a six-year $120 million rehabilitation to address its aging infrastructure. The project extended the service life of critical equipment by approximately 25 years, upgraded systems to meet future demand and increased wet weather capacity by 40 million gallons per day, helping to protect local waterways during severe storms. Other considerations such as reducing maintenance and operation costs, improving the safety of the facility’s staff, and ensuring future regulatory compliance were also central to the goals of this project. 

Early Integration and Smart Planning Keeps the Project On-Line and On Time
Adding to the project’s complexity was the need to keep the plant in operation during construction. By using Progressive Design-Build (PDB), the project team was able to integrate very early with engineering firm Brown and Caldwell and Charlotte Water to develop a phased construction strategy to anticipate issues before they impacted the project’s schedule. For example, they were able to procure items like clarifier equipment before construction began, which reduced the risk of delays due to long lead times. Charlotte Water also conducted early testing with different epoxy coating systems with the team, selecting a single-coat solution that shortened the schedule by seven months and saved $3 million in labor.

The project also made extensive use of prefabrication to reduce schedule impacts and limit on-site disruptions. Stainless steel aeration header piping was pre-fabricated offsite with input from the contractor and engineer, reducing field welding and installation time. Three prefabricated electrical equipment houses arrived fully equipped and tested, eliminating prolonged power interruptions and expediting the schedule. And careful sequencing enabled new facilities to be built without affecting ongoing operations.

The cost efficiency enabled by the team’s advanced planning allowed them to deliver more than $15 million in additional value — such as pump station overhauls, hydraulic upgrades and repurposed structures — without increasing the original budget. 

The result is a resilient, future-ready facility that will continue to provide safe and reliable water service to one of North Carolina’s largest municipalities for many decades.

Design-Build Team

Photos

Photo Credit: Garney