A Look at Progressive Design-Build in the Water Sector

Design-build has been adopted by the water/wastewater industry at a fast and furious pace. Owners are not only impressed by the speed at which their projects are being delivered, but they enjoy contracting with highly-qualified design and construction teams that place a high value on innovation, quality and client relations. This is far different than the "blame the other guy" philosophy that seems inherent in the low bid design-bid-build delivery process.

The broad use of design-build has changed some fundamental questions that water/wastewater owners ask about project delivery. Just a few years ago, the most common questions were along the lines of: "What is design-build?" "Am I authorized to use it?" and "What do I really gain by using it?"