SEATTLE. WA — Global design firm Stantec has been awarded a five-year contract by the King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) to lead the development and implementation of a program delivery plan, asset replacement, and facility upgrades at the West Point Treatment Plant (WPTP) in Seattle, Washington. The Stantec team will assist the King County WTD in streamlining and delivering projects at the WPTP, the largest wastewater treatment facility in the Pacific Northwest.

The WPTP provides secondary treatment for approximately 700,000 residents and businesses in Seattle and northern King County. The plant has secondary treatment capacity of 215 million gallons per day and an instantaneous peak capacity of 440 million gallons per day. The projects identified as priorities at the WPTP include major electrical equipment replacement, upgrades to the plant’s sodium hypochlorite disinfection system, and secondary effluent gate and final effluent pump refurbishment. These capital improvement projects protect community ratepayer investments through improved system reliability, increased efficiency, and safeguarding workers, the public, and the environment.

Stantec, in partnership with Kennedy Jenks, is in the process of developing the program delivery plan, which outlines an asset replacement strategy to maintain reliable operation. The team is also ascertaining permit compliance for the nearly 55-year-old facility. As part of the five-year contract, Stantec’s engineers will integrate King County’s existing planning data into a comprehensive decision-making framework to formulate the repair and replacement projects that will comprise the program plan. They will then deliver designs for several of those projects.

“We know that the U.S. is dealing with a significant water infrastructure gap. Many systems are not equipped to meet the demands of today — growing populations, increased treatment requirements, and the impacts of climate change,” said Dave Price, Stantec Senior Principal and Program Manager based in Bellevue, Washington. “We’re excited to help King County develop and implement a program to efficiently deliver their critical wastewater infrastructure in a more coordinated manner. Our goal is to help the county achieve the benefits of a program management approach to address their most critical short-term needs, which incorporate longer-term facility upgrades that will keep the West Point Treatment Plant in compliance and operating efficiently for the next several decades.”

With many mechanical, electrical, and support systems at the WPTP reaching the end of useful life, the program delivery plan will help the King County WTD maintain reliable facility performance during 24/7 plant operations while mitigating risks to the schedule and construction cost. To accomplish this, Stantec and the King County WTD will assess existing project delivery processes and tools, make appropriate adjustments, and develop and implement a program management plan that will provide greater consistency and transparency in project delivery.

As part of King County’s Equity and Social Justice Innovation Plan, Stantec will allocate 24 percent of the design budget to engage several locally owned, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses in this project. The initial program plan should be complete by the summer of 2021, and construction on the initial projects (of the multi-phased program) is anticipated to commence in 2022 and continue for the balance of the contract term.