Gresham Smith is proud to announce the substantial completion of large-scale expansions at Fulton County Department of Public Works’ Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Roswell, Georgia. The firm served as the owner’s engineer and construction manager for the $312 million progressive design-build project, which expands the facility’s capacity from 24 million gallons per day (MGD) to 32 MGD, elevates the quality of treated wastewater and reduces waste load to the Chattahoochee River.
The expanded plant features new state-of-the-art membrane technology, ultraviolet disinfection, chemical feed systems, coarse screens, primary clarifiers, aerobic digesters, screw press dewatering systems, and standby power generation.
“The new Big Creek facility is a testament to Fulton County Public Works Department’s environmental commitment and dedication to treating wastewater to the highest standards, coupled with working with key partners such as Gresham Smith,” said Public Works Director David Clark. “This facility serves approximately 70 square miles of North Fulton County and will meet the growing wastewater treatment demands of the service area for years to come.”
“Gresham Smith is honored to have partnered with Fulton County on this complex project, which includes one of the largest membrane system installations in North America,” said Alexander Sharp, P.E., Project Manager at Gresham Smith. “This expansion represents a significant investment in the Atlanta community and will support population growth and economic development for decades to come.”
As owner’s engineer, Gresham Smith helped facilitate a substantial value engineering effort, which resulted in a substantial savings of more than $35 million. The team also identified sustainability enhancements that resulted in a net energy savings, including optimizing the design of the UV system and using a high efficiency large bubble mixing system for the anoxic and swing zones in the bioreactors. To achieve cost and schedule goals, Gresham Smith also assisted the County in evaluation, selection and direct procurement of the membrane bioreactor system, enabling direct negotiations with the supplier.
As construction manager, Gresham Smith provided constructability reviews, construction contract management, submittal reviews, inspections through all phases of construction and documents management. The team also conducted specialty inspections and assisted the project team during system start-up.
This project is a continuation of Gresham Smith’s work at Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility. The firm previously provided design, permit and construction services to improve the biological nutrient removal process, secondary clarifier mechanisms, odor control systems and solids handling capabilities.
