Water Project of the Year
Mujib Dam Water Supply Project, Jordan
What is it?
A JOD11 million ($15.5 million) water supply scheme, completed in June 2015, involving a 5 MCM/yr (13,700m³/d) water treatment and transfer facility taking water from the Mujib Dam in Jordan to supply Karak city. The project features a UF/UV water treatment plant, reservoirs, pumping stations, and 20km of pipeline.
Who is involved?
The project was planned and procured by Jordan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) to a tight time schedule, in order to deal with the looming water crisis in Jordan. The project was co-funded by the Jordanian government and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. The lead private contractor on the project was local firm Gama Engineering. Ultrafiltration membranes at the treatment plant came from Dow, while ProMinent provided the UV system.
What makes it special?
The groundwater supplies that had traditionally provided drinking water in Karak Province have become critically overstretched due to skyrocketing demand and increasingly arid conditions. By taking advantage of previously untapped resources, the MWI is adeptly facing up to the ongoing water issues in Jordan.
The surface water at the Mujib Dam suffers from high organic loads, microbiological pollution, and significant turbidity. By taking a tailored approach to water handling through the deployment of UF and UV treatment technologies, the water supply project reclaims a source of water that was previously disposed of into the Dead Sea, turning it into another weapon in the country’s water supply arsenal.
Despite its location in extremely challenging rocky terrain, the project achieved completion at an astonishing rate. The project went from planning to commissioning in just five months – a crucial achievement for such a critical piece of infrastructure.
Distinction
Croton Water Filtration Plant, USA
What is it?
A 290 MGD (1,098,000 m³/d) UV water filtration plant that can supply up to 30% of New York City’s water needs. The plant came online in 2015.
Who is responsible?
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection owns and operates the plant. The main contractor was a Skanska-Tully joint venture, with Haley & Aldrich as geotechnical consultants. Trojan UV was selected to provide a low-pressure, high-output UV system. Grimshaw Architects designed the surface structures.
What makes it special?
The Croton water system is New York City’s oldest, providing water to the city through the New Croton Aqueduct since 1842. In 1989, the US EPA enforced the Surface Water Treatment Rule, mandating all drinking water from surface sources to be filtered. Following several protracted system shutdowns in the 1990s and 2000s due to contamination, the upgraded plant will ensure a more reliable source of drinking water in future.
To build the largest underground filtration plant in the US, an 880-foot tunnel was drilled to divert water from the local aqueduct, with two more tunnels being bored to channel the water back. The drilling, blasting and excavation removed more than 765,000m³ of rock and soil – enough to cover the whole of Central Park to a depth of 20 centimetres.
Topped off with the perfectly manicured Mosholu golf course, the plant hosts the largest “living roof” in North America. Visually integrated with its surroundings, the surface architecture allows all surface water to flow naturally to designated collection ponds without the aid of pumps. Despite being fantastically over budget and years overdue, the plant is a big coup for the Big Apple.
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