Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant

One of Augusta's Most Extensive Utilities Expansions

The Augusta Utilities Department (AUD) in Georgia operates the Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant (HAWTP) in order to supply drinking water to its customers.  Water is pumped from the Savannah River to the holding basins at the HAWTP, which then treats and distributes the water to AUD’s customers.  The plant, located at Highland and Central Avenues, was initially constructed in 1899 and subsequently expanded or improved in 1937, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1984, and 1999.  In 2004, the city of Augusta decided to expand the plant’s capacity to ensure that the AUD can meet the needs of Augusta's growing population by being able to treat 60 million gallons per day (MGD) of water consistently.

The HAWTP had relied on 10 dual-media, two-celled Leopold filters to treat surface water pumped from the Savannah River into two raw water holding basins (reservoirs) located at the HAWTP.  AUD has owned and operated the HAWTP since 1899.  As of its last expansion in 1999, the plant was permitted to treat 60 MGD; currently, the HAWTP can produce a continuous 45 MGD, but it can treat up to 60 MGD only for short periods of high demand.

Parsons was hired as the CM-at-risk contractor to modify and upgrade the plant and to increase the sustained operational capacity to its 60 MGD potential.  This expansion and its modifications will ensure HAWTP’s sustained operational capacity of 60 MGD.

Aerial view of site.  Filter building and Fort Gordon pump
station have white roofs. 

Key Features and Objectives

The HAWTP project’s notable features involve water supply and treatment, reservoirs, piping, pumping stations, and disinfection.  As CM-at-risk contractor, Parsons’ efforts on the HAWTP include project management, full CM and contracting, value engineering/independent project analysis, cost estimating, final design support and coordination, building trades contracting and coordination, CM and inspection, facility startup and assistance with initial operation, constructibility reviews, permit assistance, website development, and owner-furnished equipment procurement support.

The key issues and challenges included:

Parsons undertook a programmatic approach to this project with specific emphasis on the objectives and challenges of Augusta.  We worked directly with the city to identify the following key objectives:

• Continuous plant operation throughout work
• Maximum value in implementing improvements within bond funds
• Community acceptance and minimum adverse impacts
• Local involvement and economic opportunity

Protecting an Important Local Landmark

AUD and Parsons formed a citizen advisory group (CAG) to offer suggestions on how to restore Central Avenue’s Mockingbird Hill Village—an important landmark for generations.  The miniature village was taken down during this recent plant expansion, but it has since been restored, thanks mainly to the dedicated efforts of the CAG, which did not want Augusta to lose this community icon.  Built in the 1940s, this tiny village displays various buildings, including a home, church, cabin, windmill, and a water wheel.  Over the years, Mockingbird Hill Village has become a local treasure, maintained and enjoyed by the community at large.  With the HAWTP upgrade, AUD and Parsons determined to rebuild the village and involved citizens in the layout of the new village with the hope that it will be treasured—as was the previous village—for generations to come.

New State-of-the-Art Water Plant

The HAWTP expansion tasks included:

• Construct new intakes and piping for the reservoirs.
• Lay extensive and complex yard piping.
• Repair cracks in all six flocculation tanks.
• Repair cracks in all seven sedimentation basins along with complete cementitious coatings on the three oldest basins.
• Provide complete instrumentation and control (I&C) upgrades to existing filter building along with security system installations.
• Install new raw water intakes in existing reservoirs (located at base of water tower).
• Construct a multipurpose building (i.e. the new filter building, called the Alfred T. Griffin Administration Building) to house the new plant control room and facilities, 7 new deep-bed filters (for a total of 17 filters), all chemical facilities (including a new sodium hypochlorite generation system), administrative offices, operations and maintenance areas, laboratories, and ancillary pumping systems.
• Upgrade/improve existing auxiliary pumping station, including installation of one new pump and an overhaul of the pump station’s I&C systems.
• Construct a new multipurpose pumping station (the Fort Gordon Pumping Station) to house new plant electrical distribution equipment, wash water pumping systems for both filter buildings, and high-service pumping systems for nearby Fort Gordon.
• Install new integrated I&C systems for entire plant.
• Install new security and access control systems for entire plant.
• Upgrade traffic control system around perimeter of facility and its surrounding area.

Parsons was the prime contractor responsible to AUD for the overall facility construction and for the project’s financial performance.  We brought to the project our reputation and expertise as a leader in the water industry and one of the premier design-build and CM companies in the world.

Successful Community Involvement

Parsons established—and met—its commitment to include local and small businesses on the HAWTP expansion.  The participation of these businesses exceeded the project’s goal of 35% of the total contract value.  We are pleased to have teamed with AUD on this important project that offers job opportunities to people who live and work in the Augusta community and ensures that the HAWTP is capable of continuing to provide dependable drinking water to Augusta’s citizens for the next 70 years.