Four firms seeking to carry out upgrades to Central Arkansas Water’s Jack H. Wilson Water Treatment Plant

Four firms under consideration for work that would begin October ’24

Senior engineer Andrew Pownall gives an update on planned upgrades to the Jack H. Wilson Water Treatment Plant during the Central Arkansas Water board of commissioners meeting on Thursday in Little Rock.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Senior engineer Andrew Pownall gives an update on planned upgrades to the Jack H. Wilson Water Treatment Plant during the Central Arkansas Water board of commissioners meeting on Thursday in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)


Four firms seeking to become the so-called construction manager at risk during the planned upgrades to a Little Rock water treatment plant have submitted responses to Central Arkansas Water.

Ahead of the renovations to Central Arkansas Water's Jack H. Wilson Water Treatment Plant, engineering firm Hazen and Sawyer has been tapped to perform design phase services -- including assistance with selecting and managing a construction manager at risk -- along with a local firm, Hawkins-Weir Engineers.

Andrew Pownall, a senior engineer with the water utility, and Aaron Benzing of Hawkins-Weir Engineers gave an update to the water utility's board of commissioners during a meeting Thursday.

Pownall told commissioners of the benefits of the construction manager at risk model for the project, including better coordination meant to keep the plant operating during the construction.

"We know it's very critical [to] provide water to our customers throughout this project," he said.

Responses to the utility's request for qualifications seeking a construction manager at risk were received this week, Pownall said.

The Central Arkansas Water board is expected to consider a pre-construction contract with the construction manager at risk during a meeting next month, according to Pownall. In light of the size of the project, staff anticipate securing two guaranteed maximum price (GMP) contracts, he said.

Construction is scheduled to start in October 2024 and be completed by 2028, according to a timeline shown to commissioners on Thursday.

According to Benzing, the firms that submitted responses are:

Brasfield & Gorrie (Birmingham, Ala.)

Crossland Heavy Contractors (Columbus, Kan.)

Max Foote Construction Co. (Mandeville, La.)

Van Horn Construction (Russellville)

"Your team is gonna have a hard job ahead of them in deciding which one of these is the best for your project," Benzing said. "Any one of these four could do a good job for you."

As one example of the kind of work the construction manager at risk will be doing during the design phase, Benzing described a conundrum -- how to replace some large, heavy valves inside the plant -- which he illustrated using a couple of Lego pieces.

Officials have discovered that most of the valves are original to the plant, Benzing said. He said that "the piping was put into place and then the plant was kind of built around them."

The design team will be able to bring a proposed solution to the construction manager, who might agree or propose an alternative method based on their experience and tools, Benzing said.

Previously known as the Pleasant Valley Water Treatment Plant, the facility was completed in 1966 and expanded over the subsequent decades. In 1989, the plant was renamed for a past manager-engineer of the now-defunct Little Rock Water Works.

In January, Central Arkansas Water's board approved a 10-year schedule of rate increases that are expected to cause the typical household's monthly water bill to roughly double by 2032. The first set of higher rates is set to go into effect July 1.

The Wilson plant construction is one of three major items identified under the rate package that will be funded by an infrastructure fee to be imposed on customers beginning in 2024.

In February, water commissioners approved preliminary steps necessary for Central Arkansas Water to be able to issue revenue bonds with an aggregate principal amount of up to $11 million for the Wilson plant improvements.


  photo  Central Arkansas Water CEO Tad Bohannon looks over papers during the Central Arkansas Water board of commissioners meeting on Thursday in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
 
 


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