GRAND FORKS REGIONAL WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Challenges Necessitate New Regional Water Treatment Plant
The new Grand Forks Regional Water Treatment Plant (GFRWTP) is a 20 million gallons per day hybrid water treatment facility that includes parallel conventional and membrane treatment processes that address key regulatory and water quality challenges, increased water demand, and logistical issues associated with the City’s prior 60-year-old facility.
The new facility treats surface water supply from the Red River of the North (Red River), the Red Lake River, or a combination of both and is able to accommodate seasonal, weather-related, and most typical variations in raw water quality.
Project Details
Date: 2015 – 2020
Client: City of Grand Forks
Key Project Elements
- Green Field Design
- CMAR Delivery Method
- Parallel Conventional and Membrane Treatment Trains
- Plant Capacity Expansion
- Unique Surface Water Treatment
- Long-term Planning, Design, and Implementation
Project Development
A pilot testing program of the ozone and biological filtration treatment system was completed between May 2010 and July 2011. Pilot testing programs for a membrane treatment system (pretreatment, UF, and RO systems) were also completed between March 2013 and February 2015.The UF membrane filtration technologies pilot tested consisted of both immersed and encased membranes. Results from both pilot tests were used to determine the preferred plant configuration and operating conditions for the GFRWTP design.
The Final Design officially kicked off in January 2015 and included coagulation, flocculation, settling within plate settler basins, lime softening, ozonation, biological filtration, ultrafiltration (UF) membrane filtration, reverse osmosis (RO) membrane treatment, disinfection with chlorine and chloramines, and post-treatment chemical addition.
Design was accomplished using Revit 3D, allowing for virtual walkthroughs of the facility throughout the design phase.
A New Construction Method
In April 2015, the City of Grand Forks awarded a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR). The CMAR, among other items, provided construction phasing and scheduling recommendations to minimize interruption, advised on methods to gain efficiencies in project delivery, and developed potential construction cost savings scenarios with pre-procurement.The GFRWTP was the City’s first use of the CMAR project delivery method. Through it all, AE2S served as the City’s trusted advisor and prime engineering consultant.
End Result
The GFRWTP is a culmination of a long history of water supply planning and improvements for the City. Since 2000, the City has implemented over $48 million (nominal) in improvements.These improvements have positioned the City for the new GFRWTP and the State’s long-term vision for the area as a regional water supply hub. For the City, this is the single largest project they have ever undertaken, with a price tag of approximately $152 million.
