Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant, SAN MARCOS, CA

Mechanical Construction: HVAC, Plumbing & Process Piping Services

VALUE DELIVERED

A safer, more reliable water supply for three-million people; fewer chemicals needed to purify drinking water; compliance with increasingly rigorous state and federal water-quality regulations; lower capital and operating costs; efficient construction management that enabled on-schedule project completion in spite of an eight-month delay in the arrival of key equipment.

MECHANICAL SERVICES OBJECTIVES

To install mechanical equipment and piping for the world's largest submerged-membrane water treatment plant, capable of processing up to 100-million gallons per day.

MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS

University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors (UMEC) contributed to the construction of this innovative, new design build plant by providing a wide array of mechanical construction services. In addition to installing all modular membrane brackets, the company performed the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), plumbing, process piping and sheet metal work. Piping diameters ranged up to 90-inches, including three 100-foot lengths of 72-inch pipe and various 18- to 42-inch components. Though about 40 percent of the project focused on mechanical systems in the membrane building, UMEC's crews completed work in all of the plant's 50 separate structures.

Other Information: To complete this mechanical construction project successfully, UMEC had to carefully coordinate its construction project management processes with those of other sub-contractors. For example, the company had to finish laying pipe under the main building before the concrete slab could be poured.

WATER TREATMENT FACILITY BACKGROUND

The San Diego County Water Authority is a public agency serving the San Diego region as a wholesale water supplier. A vital part of the San Diego County public infrastructure, the Authority works through 24 member agencies to provide the water that supports three million residents and a $157-billion economy. The Authority chose the submerged-membrane treatment process because of the process's efficiency, low environmental impact and ability to produce high-quality drinking water. With microscopic pores filtering minute particles and contaminants from water, fewer chemicals are needed than for traditional processing methods. This reduces the amount of supplies that need to be trucked in, as well as the amount of byproducts and waste produced during treatment.