Arlington Water Pollution Control Facility Phase 7A

Phase 7A is part of a 10-year, modernization and expansion of Arlington's 72-year-old water pollution control facility. The $134.7 million project boosts the plant's processing capacity from 30 million gallons per day (GPD) to 40 million GPD. Phase 7A is designed to institute an enhanced nutrient removal system in order to comply with the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Removal Assistance Act. This involves removing very high levels of nitrogen and significantly improving phosphorous removal.

The immense complexity of the project was addressed by dividing it into two phases, Milestones 1 and 2. Milestone 1 entailed building two pre-stressed concrete flow equalization tanks to hold a combined 12 million gallons of wastewater. Milestone 2 focused on building an advanced Filtration and Disinfection Facility.

Fru-Con's team leaders essentially managed two large construction projects while the plant remained operational. To tie in new facilities and systems with the operating plant, more than 100 scheduled shutdowns were tightly coordinated with plant staff and Fru-Con's team, including all field craft workers. Such massive coordination amid operational demands required clear communication and nimble crews as the project team generated 875 requests for information and about 250 requests for alteration.

At the height of production, more than 200 craft workers labored on site. The crews achieved the highest safety standards, experiencing only eight recordable injuries and one lost-time injury over the project's three-year history.