Texas' Top Projects - 7

Southeast Water Plant

Project Cost: $168,276,000

The Southeast Water Plant project includes an 80-million-gallon-per-day expansion of the water purification plant, including installation of a new 13-million-gallon storage tank and complete treatment module. Work also includes new chemical facilities, control system and thickeners.

Currently producing 120 MGD, the expansion will bring the plant’s total capacity to 200 MGD. The high service pump station will have the capacity for 255 MGD.

Early on in the construction process, the project faced high winds and rain from Hurricane Ike. Crews were working on the deepest excavation of the treatment module when the storm hit the project. With good pre-planning in place, the project sustained minimal damage.

Particularly challenging is the construction of concrete baffle walls inside two existing water ground storage tanks – a feat comparable to building a ship in a bottle. The only access into the tank is through a manway. All materials and equipment must be channeled through these access points.

Key Facts

Location: Houston
Start/completion dates: May 2008/June 2011
Owner: City of Houston
General contractor: Pepper-Lawson Renda, LLC, Katy, Texas
Civil engineer: Camp Dresser McKee, Houston
Major subcontractors: Boyer Electric, Houston; Natgun, Grand Prairie; Infinity Contractors, Fort Worth