Moab City Water Reclamation Facility

BC&A provided engineering services for facility planning, preliminary engineering, and environmental assessment and permits, detailed design and bidding, and construction management services for the new Moab Water Reclamation Facility (WRF). This new facility replaced the existing wastewater treatment plant that was built in the 1950’s with an improved water reclamation facility. The intent of the new Moab WRF is to provide future wastewater treatment demand due to population growth, meet water quality discharge limits to the Colorado River, and protect the facility from a 100-year flood event. The project was constructed in fall of 2018.

The Moab WRF uses a 1.75 MGD peak monthly flowrate sequencing batch reactor (SBR) activated sludge process to achieve high effluent quality for discharge to the Colorado River. BNR capability is also provided, and supplemented with chemical addition if needed. A new influent pumping station, septage receiving facility, headworks with flow measurement, screening and grit removal, intermediate and final pumping stations, two SBR reactor basins, blower facilities, UV disinfection, flow equalization and sludge holding basins, screw press solids dewatering and utility water pumping station are all included. The SBR basins are provided with removable submerged fine bubble diffusers, floating mixers, submersible return sludge pumps and decanter equipment. Filters can be added in the future to meet reuse quality standards if required. The capacity may be increased to 2.6 MGD peak monthly flowrate in the as flows increase by adding a third SBR basin with its equipment and additional blowers.

The Moab WRF is in an environmental sensitive area that is surrounded by a wildlife preserve, wetlands, and habitat for the yellow-billed cuckoo, a federally listed threatened and endangered species. The project included an environmental assessment, environmental permits and mitigation and protection measures for the yellow-billed cuckoo.

Green River Tusher Diverson EWP

Bowen Collins & Associates (BC&A) completed design and construction management of the Green River / Tusher Diversion Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Project for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. The United States Department of Agricultures (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administered the project through the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program.

A new 880-foot long diversion dam was constructed to replace the original Tusher Diversion, a historic diversion dam that was originally constructed in 1913. The diversion dam provides irrigation water to canals on both sides of the river to more than 5,300 acres of farmland and diverts about 600 cubic feet per second (cfs) to an active power plant. High spring runoff flow in the Green River in 2011 caused extensive damage and heightened concerns of a catastrophic failure of the diversion dam that would result in significant losses to the local agricultural industry in Green River, Utah. The project design and construction schedule were accomplished in a very condensed time frame with design beginning in June 2015 and making water irrigation water deliveries by April 2016 and reaching final completion in June 2016.

The new diversion dam was constructed of grouted riprap stair steps that dissipate energy in the water and prevent dangerous downstream recirculating hydraulics that are common with similar diversions. The new diversion dam includes a boat passage for recreational boaters, upstream fish passage, downstream fish passage, restoration of water delivery to a historic waterwheel, and improved sediment sluicing. This project was awarded the 2018 ACEC Utah Grand Award.