The City of Claremore, Oklahoma, in coordination with the Claremore Public Works Authority, recently announced the completion of $28 million in water quality improvements at its water treatment plant.
Claremore is a growing community of more than 20,000 residents in Rogers County, Oklahoma. The city operates through 13 municipal departments and approximately 245 full-time employees who provide essential services and programs to residents, businesses and visitors.
The treatment plant upgrades focused on adding unit process improvements to better allow the plant to handle seasonal water quality challenges. Among the new features, a greensand filtration system will target manganese removal, a mineral responsible for discolored water. In addition, an enhanced coagulation from a new chemical feed system will reduce organic compounds that can cause undesirable tastes and odors.
“From the day we started, the goal was clean and clear water for every home and business in Claremore,” says John Feary, city manager of the City of Claremore. “We hope residents will notice the difference at the tap. Employers deciding where to invest will see a community that has made critical investments in its infrastructure, including a water system with the quality and capacity to support its growth.”
Professional services firm Burns & McDonnell delivered the project through a progressive design-build approach.
Burns & McDonnell worked with the city and third-party plant operator Inframark, an Azuria Water Solutions Company, from project kickoff in October 2021 through startup of the new systems. Financing for the project was provided by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
The project also included constructing new buildings for the two new systems, deepening existing treatment lagoons, rerouting the lagoon outfall and renovating existing facilities. These upgrades improve operational efficiency and treatment reliability so the city can accommodate future growth.
Burns & McDonnell said the project delivers clearer, better-tasting water to homes and businesses across the Claremore community.
“Claremore is one of the first cities in Oklahoma to take a progressive design-build project through the state’s flexible permitting process, and that positively impacted the outcome,” said Jason Garder, project manager at Burns & McDonnell. “It allowed us to set pricing early, lock in long-lead equipment ahead of the market and adjust scope as costs moved, so the city delivered the improvements on time and within the overall budget without cost-additive change orders.”
Managed by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, the flexible permitting process allows authorized design-build projects for public water supply and wastewater systems to proceed using multiple distinct design packages.
Claremore was one of four Oklahoma municipalities to pilot the alternative delivery method; Burns & McDonnell was selected for two of those initial projects.
Source/s: Burns & McDonnell
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