The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District board of directors has awarded a $217-million contract to Shimmick Construction Co. for the third phase of a project to expand treatment capabilities at its Regional Water Reclamation Facility in Lake Elsinore, Calif.
The expansion is planned to increase plant capacity from 8 million gallons per day to 12 million gallons per day to meet growing demand, according to the water district. General Manager Greg Thomas said in a statement that its service area in western Riverside County “is only 35% built out” and seeing increasing growth.
The work will also help the district meet state requirements to expand capacity once influent flow hits 75% of plant capacity—its flows are currently around 6 million gallons per day, according to the water district.
The scope of work includes adding a fine screen facility, two aeration basins, membrane bioreactor facility, ultraviolet disinfection facility, belt press building and odor control facilities, plus expansions of the existing headworks and influent pump station. The project is scheduled to complete in 2026, says the water district.
Its staff said they shortlisted six firms to bid following an RFQ last year. Irvine, Calif.-based Shimmick, which specializes in water resources and treatment projects, submitted the only bid. The district negotiated with the contractor to reduce the contract cost from its bid of $248.5 million. The difference includes about $10.2 million in reduced scope and $21 million in value engineering efforts.
The project is funded in part by a $129.9-million Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan, which officials say will save about $50 million in interest over 30 years.
Previous phases of the project, including distributed control system upgrades and water reclamation facility upgrades, were led by Emerson Process Managers Power & Water Solutions Inc. and Flatiron West Inc., respectively. Flatiron completed Phase 2 last summer.
