Surry’s complex interceptor force main beats tight deadline

Eight pump stations and 24 miles of force main in parallel design. 40 plus permitting approvals. 170 easements purchased. Six weeks ahead of deadline. These figures highlight the success of the Surry Hydraulic Improvements and Interceptor Force Main Project in Virginia in the face of its complex challenges.

Charting a the start of a 12-year path, a Consent Order with the Virginia State Water Control Board in 2010 initiated Surry’s journey with this project. Owned at the time by the Town of Surry, Virginia, the Surry Wastewater Treatment Plant struggled to meet total Kjeldahl nitrogen, carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, copper and chlorine effluent limits in addition to experiencing permit violations. In 2017, an amendment to the Consent Order changed ownership to Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD).

“The decision was made to decommission the town of Surry WWTP and also its sister plant, Surry County WWTP, which was also struggling to meet permit,” said Ann Copeland, P.E., PMP, and project manager for HRSD. “This project built the infrastructure system needed to decommission both plants.”

Following the decommissioning of the Surry WWTP in Phase I of the project, Phase II took aim at improving the Marina Drive and School Complex pump stations in addition to two others for capacity and reliability. In addition, construction crews replaced 6,000 feet of force main due to corrosion, connected 11 pump stations to the SCADA system, and upgraded or updated the backup generation and odor control at the pump stations.

Copeland said one of the core challenges of the project was designing eight pump stations and 24 miles of force main in parallel, but she noted HRSD’s history and experience with design-build as a delivery method served the district in this respect.

“The most important advantage of design-build delivery method is its collaborative structure that brings all experts to the table early, which provides the best environment for developing and executing a successful project,” Copeland said.

While design-build left limited time and space for major changes or changing requirements, the method did provide early insights into the cost with a price proposal, commitments from stakeholders to maintain that price, and qualifications-based selection with the price component.

Acquiring the easements and permits for 24-miles of force main presented another complex challenge as more than 170 easements were required to complete the project. While some were owned by other government agencies such as Surry County and Isle of Wight County, most ran through private property.

“A team of professional appraisers, surveyors and real estate lawyers began the work of acquiring the easements as early as the design allowed,” Copeland said. “As with many things in a design-build project, the easement acquisition was a parallel activity to the design.”

All in all, 40 permitting approvals were required from agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers, the governor, several departments of transportation and a handful of county boards. Patience, teamwork and persistence were the primary tools in the tool belt as the design-build team approached and solved permitting challenges.

“I’m proud of this project because it built the infrastructure system needed to allow the decommissioning of two small, outdated treatment plants,” Copeland said. “Taking them offline further supports our communities and helps us continue to fulfill HRSD’s Vision that our communities will have clean waterways and reliable water resources for generations to come.”