BOONE RAW WATER PROJECT CITED IN NATIONAL ENGINEERING COMPETITION

WASHINGTON, DC – W.K. Dickson & Co., Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 53^rd annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for its role in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Raw Water Project in Boone, N.C.

Funded in part with a USDA low-interest loan, the $42 million project increases the capacity of Boone’s water treatment plant to 4.5 million gallons per day. In addition to being the largest public infrastructure project in Boone’s history, the expanded plant is also home to North Carolina’s first infiltration gallery, a network of perforated pipes laid below the water table that collect groundwater to augment other raw water sources. The project also includes a new raw water intake, booster pumping station, and 12 miles of water transmission main.

The expanded treatment plant provides Boone with much-needed additional water capacity in a way that pays respect to the natural environment surrounding it. The booster pump station was designed to resemble a barn and blends seamlessly with surrounding rural landscape. As the South Fork of the New River is a recreational destination for many water enthusiasts, this project successfully protects the community’s ability to enjoy the river with no visible distractions from the installed utilities.

The project is eligible for additional honors as part of a record 203 entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in February and was conducted by a national 35-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.

Recognition of all award winners including top winners—20 Honor Awards, 16 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place at the annual EEA Dinner and Gala, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, April 28, 2020, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.