Town of Strasburg Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

2018 American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence Gold Award for Waste and Storm Water

The need to achieve nutrient reduction requirements, accommodate higher flows, and meet EPA pollution reduction goals for the Chesapeake Bay watershed provided a sense of urgency to expanding and upgrading the Town of Strasburg’s wastewater treatment plant.

This project brought together a variety of engineering trades and disciplines in possibly one of the most unique applications the project team ever experienced. It entailed a combination of architecture, electrical/energy/mechanical/structural/process engineering, Design-Build, grant assistance, GIS and more. These disciplines came together cohesively. To add complication, the design included multiple new buildings, stairs, handrails, grating platforms/walkways, structural steel framing and access hatches.

A fast-tracked design from Preliminary Engineering Report to Certificate to Construct was completed in a mere eight months. The project came in under budget with $12M in net estimated savings compared to the original abandoned project, and achieved goals of increased capacity while meeting strict regulatory standards.

The $22M budget for new design provided an estimated $12M in savings from the original abandoned project. During design, the team worked closely with the owner to secure $5.6M in grant funding.

Strasburg’s goals were met and the team replaced an outdated Department of Public Works complex with a new $5M facility. Using an adjacent portion of the existing facility site in the plant expansion resulted in innovative design savings more than paying for the cost of the new facility.