Environmentally Speaking - eNewsletter for the A/E/C Community

Michigan Brownfield Redevelopment:
Boosting The Economy

The $500 million Harbor Shores Development Project encompasses approximately 530 acres and involves over 100 different properties located near the Paw Paw and St. Joseph Rivers and Lake Michigan.

Ultimately, this high-profile project is expected to generate up to $400 million in private investment and create hundreds of jobs.

This multi-year effort is slated to create over 800 residential units, 40,000 square feet of commercial and office space, two hotels, a conference center, an indoor water park and an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. It will also provide 38 acres of new park, public waterfront access and over 12 miles of walking trails.

Harbor Shores also expects to work with local organizations to implement a series of community benefit plans.

Project stakeholders include Berrien County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BCBRA), Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment, Inc., and Nicklaus Design.

Led by Vice President, Edward Burk, CPG, and Project Manager, Brian Kardos, PE, Gannett Fleming is supporting BCBRA as their program management consultant.

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Flood Control:
Florida Bayou Reconnection

Lake Griffin, located near Leesburg in Florida’s Lake County, had long been separated from Lake Harris to its southeast by U.S. Route 441. An old railroad roadbed also isolated the two lakes and an area between them known as "Harris Bayou.">

In order to control flooding on both nearby Haines Creek and the chain of lakes upstream of Lake Harris, the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) designed and constructed a project to divert up to 1,000 cfs from Lake Harris directly to Lake Griffin.

This effort is expected to improve Florida water quality, meet environmental restoration goals, create a fisheries habitat and diversify and increase aquatic vegetative habitat.

As a result of this construction, water now flows from northwest Lake Harris through a gated control structure on the south side of Harris Bayou; and then northwest into Lake Griffin through a connector passing under a widened US Route 441. Work involved the construction of nearly one mile of channels and large concrete box culverts.

^ Bayou project tasks ranged from slope stability and seepage analysis to dredging evaluations and materials testing.

Gannett Fleming was retained for multiple work orders under this assignment, which is part of a multi-faceted SJRWMD Construction Management and Design Contract.

Gannett Fleming has held the SJRWMD contract for the past eight years and recently won it again for the third time in a row.

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Michigan Brownfield Funding

Additional parcels for project inclusion are being investigated and prioritized thanks to a $200,000 USEPA Assessment Grant.

The Harbor Shores Development Project (news) is funded through a combination of private investment, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and federal loans and grants.

Project properties where activities were conducted under Berrien County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority funding are brownfield sites with historical contamination present due to former industrial activity.

Gannett Fleming Vice President, Edward Burk, CPG, is no stranger to Michigan funding requirements. He directs several multi-year, multi-million dollar MDEQ contracts involving the characterization, cleanup and closure of contaminated sites throughout the state.

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New Jersey Interconnection Study

Work was recently completed for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) "Interconnection Study - Mitigation of Water Supply Emergencies." This four-year study evaluated the capacity of New Jersey’s primary interconnection and transmission infrastructure in order to optimize transfers of water and help mitigate water supply emergencies throughout the State.

Pipeline network development for new models included importing GIS data.

The effort entailed computer model development which directly simulated twenty of the largest water systems in the State. The model efficiently and effectively evaluated the large transfers that were considered as part of the study. This state-wide model further required developing new model systems.

Jim subsequently presented the 2-day training course to NJDEP staff.

This assignment was managed by Jeff Ulrich, PE, with modeling assistance from Mike Brown, PE, and Jim Fuller, who developed a training course to assist the NJDEP with model functionality.

Surf papers/presentations for more on GIS and modeling capabilities.

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Pennsylvania Water Infrastructure Action

According to industry surveys conducted over the past five years, Pennsylvania's projected water infrastructure financing needs are as follows:

$11 billion for drinking water
$7 billion for wastewater treatment
$5 billion for storm water management

While federal water infrastructure investment support is dwindling, long-term capital improvement, operation and maintenance programs present additional funding challenges for Pennsylvania.

Furthermore, the Task Force is identifying non-structural savings (including nutrient trading) along with actual service costs.

The state's "Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force" is tackling these issues. Consisting of 30 water industry constituents, this group is analyzing the gap between financial need and available resources.

Innovative watershed approaches include forested riparian buffers and integrated water resource planning.

Considering sustainable processes (better asset management, energy and system efficiency, partnering, integrated planning and water conservation) is also on the agenda. The Task Force must submit a final report to Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell by October 1.

Gene Koontz, PE [bio], and Dave MacIntyre, PE, serve in the Task Force Needs Assessment Work Group. Jim Elliott, PE, who serves in the Financial Resource Work Group, also delivered a presentation on the Chesapeake Bay wastewater treatment strategy which included an overview of Pennsylvania's comprehensive nutrient reduction approach.

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Waterworks Circuit
Arizona Sewer Mains

Alan O'Brien, PE, will deliver a presentation entitled, "Pipe Bursting Using HDPE for Sewer Main Upsizing" during the Arizona Chapter of the American Public Works Association (links) Annual Conference in Tucson, AZ. Alan will explain how pipe bursting technology enables single or multiple runs of sewer mains to be upsized with reduced impact on street access and the public.

The workshop was sponsored by the Water Treatment Facilities Design and Construction and the Joint AWWA-AGC Committees.

Design Engineer Pressures

Gene Koontz, PE, [bio], discussed risk-averse utility attorneys, indecisive boards and tough regulators during an all-day workshop on improving water utility capital processes during the AWWA ACE in Atlanta, GA.

Gene co-presented this topic, citing:

changing market conditions
cost pressure from owners and competitors
engineering supply-demand
tighter schedules and deadlines
greater political involvement in utility activities
risk allocation

International Water Reuse

Bob also delivered a presentation at the WateReuse event in Tampa, FL; and discussed the world’s water crisis at the University of South Florida.

Bob Adamski, PE [bio], spoke about how points are assigned in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program during the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association Annual Conference in State College, PA. He further explained how a water reuse approach can facilitate LEED certification.

Several New York water reuse project examples were cited, including sustainable Bronx Zoo > elements:

composting toilets
gray water garden from handwashing
local garden from rain water

Pennsylvania Non-Revenue Water

Mike Brown, PE, delivered a presentation at the Pennsylvania Section AWWA Annual Conference on using information technology as an innovative method to help reduce non-revenue water (NRW). Mike's topic was based on a case study for a Pennsylvania-American Water (PAW) project.

Mike and PAW Co-Presenter, Jasun Stanton, PE, examined both GIS and computer modeling capabilities. PAW project tasks include:

evaluating approx. 3,800 main break/leak records
establishing metered sub-zones
identifying potential areas for pressure reduction
field monitoring and computer modeling of surge conditions resulting from high-service pumping station operations
developing a sampling and testing program for approx. 133,000 small meters

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» Arizona Chapter APWA

» Florida St. Johns River Management District

» Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality

» Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force
» WateReuse Association