Environmental Enhancement Project Wins Institution of Civil Engineers Award

A project to enhance the quality of coastal waters in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has proved an award winner for Black & Veatch. The £9M (US$17.9M) Seahouses Wastewater Treatment Works Scheme, undertaken for Northumbrian Water, has won the Institution of Civil Engineers’ (ICE) prestigious Robert Stephenson Award.

The project, carried out by a team comprising Black & Veatch, Entec and Carillion, ended the discharge of raw sewage into the North Sea by constructing a new wastewater treatment works (WwTW), pumping stations and sewers to serve the Northumbrian town of Seahouses and the surrounding areas. This stretch of the northeast coastline has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As a result, maximum attention had to be paid to protecting the local environment while the work took place. To ensure the WwTW was in harmony with landscape, the structure was designed to look like local farm buildings and finished local stone with a traditional slate roof.

"Our global reputation for excellence is built on the success of local projects, such as the Seahouses WwTW," said Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Black & Veatch's global water business. "We're doing innovative work every day, around the world, that changes communities for the better."

The Robert Stephenson Award recognizes excellence in civil engineering and is presented to projects in which innovation features strongly. The judges praised the way the scheme “serves the need of the local community while at the same time blends into the landscape with minimal environmental impact.” The level of public consultation and engagement undertaken by the project team was also applauded in the judges’ report.

Source: Black & Veatch