Seamless delivery; cutting-edge, reliable technology; and an integrated design-build-operate team are delivering a sustainable, 700,000-gallon-per-day water recovery and reuse project for an industrial client in Casa Grande, Arizona. The new process—incorporating advanced membrane technology to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary and secondary drinking water standards—will enable at least 80 percent of the facility's process water to be cleaned and reused to move and wash potatoes, cook and wash corn, clean equipment, and for other cleaning and production needs.
Beyond streamlining design and construction, the design-build process integrates CDM and the client's technical engineers in selecting the best components for this first-of-its-kind facility. CDM's unique 3D/4D design approach helps bring the complex technology to life by allowing for a future computerized maintenance management system, which will help the facility's environmental managers better understand and efficiently maintain equipment and track costs.
The compact water recycling facility will dramatically reduce the amount of water discharged from the plant, freeing up ground currently used for the land application of wastewater. This space will be used for what will be the largest food industry photovoltaic solar system—a 3 megawatt-DC photovoltaic solar installation with 11,808 275-watt flat photovoltaic panels mounted with single-axis trackers. The CDM-constructed system, which provides 14- to 24-percent more energy than a fixed tilt system, includes 82 combiner boxes with five 500-kilowatt inverters, as well as five transformers to provide energy for both production and electric return to the utility grid. CDM is also building a 1.47 MW-system with concentrated photovoltaic collectors on dual-axis trackers, and installing 10 solar collectors using Sterling engine technology.
This project is the 2009 BE Inspired Award winner in the "Innovation in Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants" category.