March 2012: Plans and Specifications Received

60 percent-design plans and specifications for the electrical service entrance building and instrumentation/control were received.

Proposals for an Electrical Contractor/Construction Manager (EC/CM) were scored, and interviews will be conducted in April.

Jobs and Bid Information

The GC/CM for the treatment plant expansion project is Mortenson Construction. Click here for information on 2012 and 2013 job opportunities and invitations to bid.

How wastewater is treated

The objective of wastewater treatment is to convert raw sewage and wastewater into products that do not cause harm to the surrounding environment and to prevent pollution. The goal is to produce environmentally-safe liquid waste (treated effluent) and solid waste (treated sludge called biosolids) suitable for disposal or reuse as fertilizer such as SoundGRO.

Treatment at the Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant

What is GC/CM?

GC/CM stands for General Contractor/Construction Manager. It is an alternative project delivery system chosen for the WWTP expansion project and approved by the state Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB). GC/CM was compared to the traditional Design-Bid-Build (DBB) approach and to another alternative called Design-Build (DB) before being selected.

The GC/CM approach was chosen because it provides greater efficiency to manage costs and build the project while keeping the treatment plant operational during construction.

The General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) will work closely with project engineers to develop the best design and construction strategy. more

Spring 2012 and Fall 2012

Grading and road work is complete along lower Chambers Creek Road.

Trees and other landscaping planted last year will be irrigated starting this spring in an effort to help the vegetation get established.

The new trail section from Chambers Creek Road up to the Environmental Services is now open to the public.

In 2011, Pierce County conducted a pilot study to determine if the DEMON (anammox) biological treatment process for reducing ammonia would work and be cost effective at the county wastewater treatment plant.

In general, the process performed as expected and the county is planning to incorporate DEMON into the Phase 1 treatment plant expansion.

News release (May 18, 2011)

More about DEMON

DEMON Pilot Study
April 28, 2011

PCTV interviewed DEMON patent holder Dr. Bernard Wett and project manager Ryan Dooley to explain the role of anammox bacteria in wastewater treatment and reasons for the pilot study.

If you have questions about the treatment plant expansion, please contact

Ryan Dooley, P.E.
Project Manager
253-798-4280

Email