The Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD) of Omaha recently awarded a $11.5-million contract to an HDR-led design team to provide engineering services for the Platte West Water Project, a $300 million treatment facility to meet growing water needs of the metro Omaha area.
The plant will be MUD's third water treatment facility, adding 100 million gallons of high-quality drinking water to the existing 234 mgd capacity. The utility serves more than 176,000 customers.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a Federal 404 Permit to MUD on May 16, 2003, followed 13 years of planning and permitting activities by MUD and the consulting team of HDR, Malcolm Pirnie, and Kirkham Michael. Overall planning efforts date back to 1972, when MUD authorized HDR to prepare a long-range master plan for the metropolitan Omaha area.
Project components include:
• A well field with 42 vertical wells capable of supplying 104 mgd.
• A 72 inch raw water transmission main from the well field to the water treatment plant site in Douglas County, including crossing the Platte River.
• A water treatment plant, rated for 100 mgd, including lime softening, filtration, disinfection, storage, high service and transfer pumping, solid handling/dewatering, numerous chemical feed systems and administration and maintenance buildings.
• A 54 inch finished water transmission main connecting to MUD's Skyline Reservoir.
The Platte West Project will take two years to design and three years to build. The plant is estimated to be on-line in 2008.
