American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin_W&RRC Award Copyright 2014
City of Dubuque Presentation(s) # 1.
ITEM TITLE: American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin
SUMMARY: City staff to present the 2016 'Best in State" Engineering
Excellence Award from the American Council of
Engineering Companies of Wisconsin recognizing the
Water& Resource Recovery Center (W&RRC) Facility
Upgrade Project.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Engineering Excellence Award-MVM Memo City Manager Memo
Staff Memo Staff Memo
Dubuque Water & Resource Recovery System Supporting Documentation
Information
THE CITY OF Dubuque
UBE I
erica .i
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2007-2012-2013
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Water& Resource Recovery Center Upgrade — Best in State Award
DATE: April 14, 2016
City Engineer Gus Psihoyos has requested that Project Manager Steve Brown present
to Mayor Roy Buol and the Dubuque City Council the American Council of Engineering
Companies of Wisconsin's 2016 "Best in the State" Engineering Excellence Award
received by the project engineer, Strand Associates, for the Dubuque Water and
Resource Recovery Center.
// S4-z:n=,
Micliael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
Dubuque
'TE-IF,CITY OF ""'� �
ERffacac'y
R
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 1-007.2012.2613
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer X c (
,:D
DATE: April 11, 2016
RE: Water& Resource Recovery Center Upgrade — Best in State Award
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Wisconsin has recognized
Dubuque's Water and Resource Recovery Center(W&RRC) facility upgrade project as
a 2016 "Best in State" Engineering Excellence Award recipient. The award honors
projects representing the highest degree of technical innovation, client satisfaction, and
contribution to the engineering profession.
According to the ACEC, an Engineering Excellence Award is a tribute to not only the
winning project and firm submitting the entry, but also to the clients, owners, sub-
consultants, contractors and everyone else who played a role in making this project a
reality. The W&RBC's $70 million upgrade project, completed in 2013, represents
collaborative civil engineering by the City of Dubuque, its citizens, and Wisconsin-based
engineering consultant Strand Associates, Inc., who completed the design and
construction of the W&RRC upgrades and submitted the project entry. Miron
Construction, headquartered in Neenah, Wis., was the general contractor for the project
which also involved nearly 70 subcontractors and vendors, including many local
companies.
The design of the W&RRC facility upgrade implemented sustainable and economically
viable solutions by adhering to the City's 12 sustainable principles, which include smart
energy use, regional economy, resource management, community design, community
knowledge, and clean water. Approximately 98.6 percent of the production materials of
the W&RRC were reused from the demolition of the old plant. Replacement of
previously-utilized incineration technology with anaerobic digestion has enabled the
plant to produce up to 70 percent of its own electrical needs. Other improvements
include the switch from previously used chemical disinfection process with ultra violet
(UV) disinfection, use of biosolids to fertilize local corn and soybean fields, and the
ability to process high-strength waste created from production or manufacturing
processes. The upgrade has transformed the way previously wasted materials are
utilized and has resulted in considerable economic savings for the City, reduced
environmental impact, and economic opportunity for local businesses.
It is requested that Project Manager Steve Sampson-Brown be allowed to present this
ward to the City Council on behalf of Strand Associates, Inc. at the April 18, 2016, City
Council Meeting.
cc: William O'Brien, WRRC Manager
2
DubuqueWater & Resource RecoveryCenter
ROWING RETURN ON INVE$TMENT
Dubuque's Water & Resource Recover
.� a y
Center (WRRC), the City's wastewater
_ treatment plant located on Julien
! x UBUQUE
---
W ER
= Dubuque Drive, underwent a nearly $70
RECOVERY
- million facility upgrade that was
— _CENTER
completed in 2013. At the time it was
y the largest capital improvement project in
the city's history. The new treatment
kT19 IroI �I� �� system has now been in operation for two
When water and "other stuff" go down the fiscal years so it's a good time to review
• drain in Dubuque, it ends up at the Water & how this major investment is performing.
Resource Recovery Center, which processes
an average of 10 million gallons of
wastewater per day!
Pure-oxygen biological treatment FROM BURNING WASTE (THE OLD PROCESS)TO
is used to clean the wastewater. PRODUCING A USEFUL PRODUCT
Then, anaerobic digesters use 12 %z tons of soil amendment(fertilizer)are produced PER DAY
helpful bacteria to convert the That's an average of ei ht semi loads erweek of useful
That's the 9 9 p
equivalent of wastewater sludge into a material created instead of being burned!
144 showers
per minute `-
entering the facility's
treatment system!
I I Thanks to the ability to produce electricity and operational efficiencies,
the facility's electricity demand has dropped by 70-75%, from 1000
kilowatts down to just 250-300 kilowatts.
ANNUAL ELECTRICITY $237 000 Because of these efficiencies and the plant now producing its own electricity, annual electricity
COST SAVINGS! i costs have dropped from $579,205 in fiscal year (FY) 2011 to $342,230 in FY2015.
ANNUAL FUEL-OIL $300,000 Before the facility upgrade, the bio-solids produced at the plant were incinerated. In FY2011, the City
COST SAVINGS! spent$300,000 on fuel oil for this activity at the plant. Because anaerobic digestion is now used,
incineration is not needed so the City was able to reduce operating costs by$300,000 per year!
ANNUAL STAFFINGOperating efficiencies of the WRRC now allow the plant to operate with one less employee, resulting
COST SAVINGS! 69,000
in a cost savings of$69,000 per year.
$606,000 TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING COST SAVINGS
ENERGY SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES & JOBS
PRODUCTION Thanks to the facility upgrades, the WRRC now has the capacity to process
high-strength waste, which means the facility provides a critical service to
The WRRC converts waste into a variety of local businesses that produce high-strength waste through
electricity and heat.The anaerobic digestion their production or manufacturing processes. Local companies like Hormel,
process produces methane gas. The gas Rousselot, and Western Dubuque Biodiesel can now take their waste
is captured, cleaned, and burned to products to the WRRC to be processed. In fact, Hormel's cost per gallon for
power turbines that generate electricity.
The heat produced through this process is treatment/disposal was reduced by 60%. Hormel previously hauled their
used to heat the complex, and the high-strength waste over 90 miles to Madison, Wis., every day.
electricity produced is used to power the
facility. Currently, the facility produces The WRRC's ability to process these materials saves those companies the
enough electricity to power approximately, cost of having to transport that waste to other locations for disposal and
300 households per day, which is 70% of the makes Dubuque a more attractive location for business expansion and new
electricity needed to operate the facility.
businesses.
The WRRC is expected to be electrically Processing high-strength waste also produces revenue for
self-sufficient within two years.
the City. The WRRC expects to generate $240,000 in
revenue through this activity this year.
The WRRC is producing more
methane than can be used at the REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
facility. The City is researching A new ultra-violet light disinfection process means the facility is no
methods to use this excess methane longer introducing one ton of toxic chlorine gas into the environment
to increase revenues and further
reduce operating costs. every week.
The wastewater treatment process results in the removal of 10 tons
of oxygen demand per day, which previously went into the Mississippi
A NEW AND ABOVE-AVERAGE River. Fish and other aquatic life especially appreciate this benefit!
FACILITY FOR AVERAGE RATES The upgrade of the facility is one component of a 2011 consent
decree settlement between the City and the U.S. Department of
The operation of the Water and Resource Recovery Center and the$70 Justice and the FnvironmentalProtection Agency.
million upgrade made to the facility are supported through the sanitary
sewer user fees paid by customers. Dubuque's average household rate for The new process improves our local air quality and supports
the currentfiscal year(2016)is$36.96 per month. Although Dubuque has
one of the newest wastewater treatment facilities in the state,the average Dubuque's goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by
monthly rate for the other I I cities in Iowa with populations over 50,000 is 2030. The elimination of the incineration process has eliminated
$3a.30,just seven percent below Dubuque's rate. Davenport,Des Moines, harmful particulate matter being released into the environment.
and Ankeny have higher rates with Ankeny's rate at$51.65 per month,56
percent higher than Dubuque's rate. The new facility uses 400 kilowatts less per year, which results in
4,715 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent NOT going into our
!Onhn
' ' atmosphere. That's the equivalent of removing 693 cars
' from the road every year or the reduction of 300 homes'
energy use.
k v 1 oe Water & Resource Recovery Center currently
erates at 60 65% of its capacity,which means LEARN MORE! BUB*FE
there is considerable capacity to meet www.cityofdubuque.org/wrrc
residential and industrial growth. SUSTAINABLE
or 563-589-4116 C�DusuQUE