McCarthy Building Cos. has reached a critical milestone on another water project in its portfolio.
The contractor, alongside engineer-of-record Black & Veatch, marked the completion of the Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant’s modernization in Lawrence, Kansas, according to a Monday announcement from the builder. The project cost $74.3 million.
Improvements to the facility include the conversion of four aeration basins to biological nutrient removal basins, with the goal of significantly reducing nitrogen and phosphorus discharged into the Kansas River. A new supervisory control and data acquisition facility will give plant operators real-time monitoring and control across all plant systems. Scope also comprised electrical and infrastructure upgrades, per the announcement.
McCarthy and the city began upgrades due to the plant’s age and increasingly strict regulatory requirements, per the builder. With these improvements, the facility now meets updated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit standards set by the state’s Department of Health and Environment.
The plant, which has operated since 1956, processes approximately 8 million gallons, or about 80%, of the city’s daily wastewater, according to McCarthy. It worked as the only wastewater treatment plant in the city until 2018, when the Wakarusa River Wastewater Treatment Plant began operation, according to the city’s wastewater treatment information page.
The project represented another milestone for the city: McCarthy delivered the project via the construction manager at risk method, the city’s first application of the contracting format on a wastewater project. CMAR usage has been increasing on infrastructure jobs, with experts touting its effectiveness at reducing owner risk.
“As the City’s first-ever CMAR wastewater project, this effort demonstrated how a collaborative delivery approach can create meaningful value for the client and all project partners by strengthening coordination, reducing risk, and supporting smart solutions from preconstruction through completion,” said Kerry Klausner, senior project director for McCarthy, in the news release.
McCarthy, like other contractors, has pursued water projects across the country. Alongside collaborator Black & Veatch, the builder reached a critical milestone in January on a $168 million Mesa, Arizona, water treatment job. Then, in June, a McCarthy-Jacobs JV began work on a $185 million water project in Torrance, California.
