July 21, 2016
Horner & Shifrin’s New Crystal City Water Plant Design Now Complete
The new water treatment plant presented numerous design challenges that the H&S design team successfully overcame.
Horner & Shifrin (H&S) completed the design of the new 750,000-gallon per day (MGD) drinking water treatment plant, replacing the 55-year-old original “Woodrow O. Smith” H&S designed water facility. The new plant came online July 19, 2016. Significant technological advances will provide the City with improved potable water production through a more efficient process. This design-build project is one of the first of its kind for municipalities in Missouri. H&S worked in conjunction with construction firm Albericci-Goodwin Constructors, LLC to complete the project on schedule.
Major elements from this project include constructing the new plant above the 500-year floodplain allowing for vehicular access during flooding events, construction of a new softening plant and minor upgrades to the distribution system. In an effort to simplify the design and reduce costs, the design-build team was also able to rehabilitate the City’s existing collector well in order to pull water from the Mississippi aquifer.
The new water treatment plant presented numerous design challenges that the H&S design team successfully overcame.
“Simply finding a suitable location to build the new plant took several months to determine. Issues such as power, natural gas availability, floodplain location, and access to the existing water distribution system were concerns that were critical to choosing a site. The new design not only relocated the plant above the floodplain, but it was also designed with a secondary access road which doesn’t flood. This allows the City’s personnel to always have a means to access the plant, even during flooding events.”
The plant is designed to produce 750,000 gallons of drinking water per day (which is currently their peak day). However, with additional review by MoDNR, production could increase to approximately 1.2 MGD. The water quality and efficiency of the new plant will dramatically improve. This project also upgrades Crystal City’s compliance of this operation as a FEMA Critical Facility.
“The new water treatment facility is critical for the long term sustainability of Crystal City,” said Crystal City Administrator Jason Eisenbeis, “allowing us to better serve our residents and business owners for decades to come.”