The County Public Works Department’s Wastewater Management Division was recently honored for its work on an optimization project at one of the island’s wastewater treatment plants.
The division received the American Society of Civil Engineers Hawai’i Section 2022 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award for Best Small Project at a Sept. 30 event in O’ahu. Representatives from Public Works and the division were present to claim the prize.
The winning project, the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant R-1 Process Optimization Project, was a collaboration between the Wastewater Management Division operations and maintenance staff and the consultant of the county on the project, Kennedy Jenks engineers.
“This achievement is a testament to the innovative work of our team in the Wastewater Management Division,” Mayor Derek Kawakami said in a news release. “Not only does this project produce reliable recycled water for irrigation in the City of Waimea, it also avoids costly infrastructure costs, reduces energy consumption, and preserves valuable groundwater for our community.”
The project focused on adjustments to existing processes at the Waimea facility, including a 50% reduction in equalization tank volume and construction of a polymer system and injection system of chlorine. The result of the project is consistent recycled water for irrigation in Waimea.
Funded by capital improvement dollars, the project began in 2019 and was completed in 2021. The overall cost was $200,000.