In an effort to relieve base operations from problems with aging infrastructure, the U.S. Navy embarked on a design, build, operate, and maintain pilot program to enhance overall system operability and reliability. Thanks to a unique government and industry partnership between the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest, the U.S. Marine Corps, and CDM, this landmark 10-year, $260 million program, which also includes new recycled water systems, is delivering flexible, reliable, safe, and easy-to-operate facilities that will achieve rigorous compliance objectives and benefit a cleaner coastal environment.
The program's cornerstone is the 5-million-gallon-per-day Southern Region tertiary treatment plant that consolidates five outdated sewage treatment facilities. Delivered through a fast-track design-build process, this state-of-the-art plant uses sequencing batch reactor technology—uniquely combining performance, flexibility, and compactness—to meet flow variations, apply best technologies for nutrient removal, and reclaim effluent for base reuse.
CDM continues to drive the infrastructure rehabilitation through program management and hands-on design, construction, and operations services for more than a dozen other projects, including new water supply facilities, wastewater conveyance systems, and a distribution network that will ultimately supply reclaimed water for irrigation and groundwater recharge.
Using creative collaboration and communication approaches that integrate multidisciplinary stakeholder interests with CDM's technical guidance, the program is delivering advanced treatment processes that meet significant physical and procedural site restrictions, balancing technical and schedule priorities with environmental compliance. Equally important are the protection of the base's endangered species and the preservation of their habitats—realized through significant project team cooperation that is allowing construction activities to peacefully coexist with nature.