The Vancouver, Wash., city council on July 27, 2015 unanimously approved a 10-year partnership with CH2M for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the city’s two wastewater treatment plants—Westside and Marine Park, the Industrial Pretreatment Lagoon and eight pump stations.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, CH2M will operate the city’s 44-million-gal-per-day facilities, which serve 220,000 residents in the southwestern-Washington community. The initial term of the contract is 10 years with two five-year extension options.
Following a year-long competitive procurement process, CH2M was selected as Vancouver’s operating partner based on the firm’s vision for managing the city’s facilities, as well as an asset management approach including a commitment to achieve International Organization for Standardization 55001 compliance. With this approach, CH2M will lower operational costs while improving maintenance of the city’s infrastructure to better prioritize future repair, replacement and investment decisions. CH2M will also implement major improvements to the supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) to increase transparency, efficiency and reliability of operations.
“For many years, the city of Vancouver has enjoyed tremendous success under a public-private partnership approach to provide cost effective and award winning wastewater treatment to our community. We are confident that our new partnership with CH2M will continue and build upon that success well into the future,” said Brian Carlson, Vancouver’s public works director.
From performing water and sewer rate studies in the 1980s, to the design of the world-renowned Marine Park Wastewater Treatment Plant, Westside facility’s incinerator and outfall upgrades of both plants, to long-standing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit support, CH2M has faithfully served Vancouver’s wastewater system for more than three decades.
“Our team’s unique understanding of Vancouver’s facilities and the relationships our team has forged with staff helped distinguish CH2M,” said Greg McIntyre, Global Water Business Group president. “We are honored to take on this new opportunity to serve the city of Vancouver with a utility renowned for its commitment to environmental stewardship and superior customer service.”
“We are confident that our forward looking approach, coupled with our integrated capabilities encompassing engineering, design, SCADA and operations, will help Vancouver remain in the forefront of wastewater management,” McIntyre added.
