Project of the Year - Civil/Public Works (Tie)
The City of Muskego’s Well No. 13 is both a stylish public works building and a high capacity municipal well.
Designed to blend seamlessly into an upscale subdivision, the complex architectural style and landscaping give no hint that up to 2,200 gallons per minute of radium-free water is being pumped to serve the needs of this growing community.
When the Well No. 13 site was identified, the city had a need to generate between 500 and 700 gpm of radium-free water. Well No. 13 exceeded expectations when the test well produced about 2,200 gpm.
However, the increased capacity brought with it a challenge. Pumping at the higher capacity resulted in increased levels of iron in the water.
While the city only needed to pump 1,000 gpm to meet current demand, it wanted the ability to pump at higher rates as the population grew.
The footprint for the well building was already dictated by lot size and local zoning, so installing an iron filter that would treat this increased capacity would have been problematic.
A pilot study aided in sizing an iron filter to fit the footprint of the building, thereby reducing both short and long-term costs. Federal stimulus money funded upgrades to the distribution system.
The end result is a functional public works project.
Key Players
Developer/Owner: City of Muskego, Wis.
GC: Burkhart Construction Corp., Butler, Wis.
CM: Ruekert/Mielke Inc., Waukesha, Wis.
Civil Engineer: Ruekert/Mielke Inc., Waukesha, Wis.
