SEATTLE, WA, Oct. 8, 2004 -- Seattle-area residents now receive even higher quality drinking water that has been treated with state-of-the-art ozonation and ultraviolet (UV) treatment. Officials from Seattle Public Utilities dedicated the new Cedar Water Treatment Facility at the Lake Youngs Reservoir with a ribbon cutting ceremony and tour. Mayor Greg Nickels raised a glass of water treated at the CH2M Hill-designed facility to "toast" the grand opening.
The new facility is among the first and is the largest facility in the United States to combine the new technologies to treat drinking water, ensuring that Seattle Public Utilities' customers receive the highest quality water at the best price.
The Cedar Water Treatment Facility will treat 70% of the drinking water for Seattle and suburban water customers, and will disinfect 180 million gallons of water per day. It will ensure that the water supply meets or surpasses current and expected new federal water quality standards.
"Seattle is leading the way in making smart investments that provide long-term benefits," said Mayor Nickels. "Every time they turn on the tap, our children, our grandchildren, and generations to come will enjoy the best tasting drinking water in the nation."
Seattle Public Utilities retained CH2M HILL to design, build, and operate the Cedar Water Treatment Facility. CH2M HILL is an employee-owned, full-service project delivery firm that has been providing services within the Seattle area since the 1950s. With the innovative design-build-operate process, the CH2M HILL family of companies will be able to save the City about 30% or $50 million over the estimated cost of a conventional design-bid-build-city-operate procurement. Operations Management International, Inc. (OMI), CH2M HILL's utility operations and maintenance company, will operate the state-of-the-art facility for at least 15 years with the option to extend the contract up to an additional 10 years.
"Our firm was honored to partner with Seattle Public Utilities in creating the Cedar Facility," said Don Evans, Civil Infrastructure Group Chief Executive for CH2M HILL. "Our integrated project delivery approach was based on least impact to the construction planning and safe, reliable long-term operations."
For more information on the Cedar Water Treatment Facility, visit http://projects.ch2m.com/cedarps/.
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