A pair of Portland Water Bureau projects worth $1.83 billion are set to move forward with the recent selection of contractor teams by the Portland City Council.

The new contracts approved by the city council on June 28 awarded the joint venture of MWH Constructors and Kiewit Corp the construction manager/general contractor role on a $1.25 billion water filtration facility. Brown and Caldwell, Stantec and Carollo Engineers serve on the team.

Under federal mandate, in fall 2027 Portland, Ore., must remove the microorganism cryptosporidium from its Bull Run Watershed, which delivers drinking water to nearly 1 million customers. To meet the requirement, the city-run bureau will construct a filtration facility on 95 acres in east Multnomah County and a nearly $500 million, seven-mile pipeline to service the facility. 

The large-diameter pipeline project is a joint venture of J.W. Fowler and MWH, with the CM/GC team operating as Bull Run Conveyance Partners. The project will deliver raw water from the Bull Run River to the new filtration facility and then treated water to residents. 

Brown and Caldwell was selected to provide program management services for the project in 2018.

While costs on the project increased an additional 24% over 2022 estimates, the federally mandated project must be completed by the end of September 2027. The tight regulatory timeline comes as part of the reason for the increased price tag, along with increased construction costs, a limited labor force and a more refined design progression on the project, Cecilia Huynh, Portland Water Bureau director of finance, told the Portland City Council. 

The Portland Water Bureau will bear the brunt of the costs, while a low-interest Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan will save the bureau $247 million. 

Gabriel Solmer, director of the Portland Water Bureau, says they have worked to keep project costs as manageable as possible. “We have made significant changes” she says, “to the scope of the projects to respond to stakeholder ideas, manage costs and continually focus on what’s needed.” 

MWH says municipal water projects in the last decade represents more than 70% of the company’s revenue, while gaining the team valuable lessons, including during the construction of Portland’s related corrosion control improvements project, which came online in April 2022. In a statement, MWH says they will use the experience and knowledge of the bureau’s “preferred processes and procedures to ensure the Bull Run Treatment Program runs smoothly and efficiently.”

The facility will also eliminate sediment, organic material and other contaminants by filtering up to 135 million gallons of water per day.

The bureau selected the CM/GC delivery method to help gain contractor input during design and allow for a quick start to construction. 

Filtration facility construction is scheduled to begin in September and be operational in 2027. The project will split into two phases, says Jodie Inman, chief engineer for the water bureau, in order to “allow maximum time for contractors.” The team is still working through final permitting. 

Construction on the pipeline is expected to begin 2024, also ready in 2027, following design completion this year.