Fulton County, Ga., selects Veolia to manage wastewater system

ATLANTA — In a competitive procurement, Fulton County, Ga., has selected Veolia Water North America for a five-year, $58 million public-private partnership agreement to manage and operate the county’s four wastewater treatment facilities and 30 pump stations, which serve more than 300,000 people.

Veolia Water is now operating the new 15-MGD Johns Creek Environmental Campus (JCEC). This $137 million, state-of-the-art facility has the largest submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) system in the United States for treating wastewater to an effluent quality that is being utilized for beneficial reuse.

Veolia Water’s proposal was ranked highest, earning the highest marks for overall value among the three competitive proposals prepared for the Fulton County Department of Public Works. The contract is another recent win for Veolia Water, in addition to new contracts in Buffalo, N.Y., and Haldimand County, Ontario.

Under the partnership, Fulton County will continue to own all wastewater assets and maintain rate-setting authority. Veolia Water will be responsible for operations and maintenance of the county’s assets using an asset management-orientated approach that maximizes system life-cycle service using a web-based computerized maintenance management system.

“Veolia Water’s partnership is about delivering maximum environmental value to residents for the best price,” said Keavin Nelson, executive vice president of Veolia Water North America’s East region. “But it’s also about working closely with the local community. Given the country’s ongoing economic challenges, we were very pleased to work with the county to develop a staffing plan that provides good jobs for local Fulton County workers.”

Under the terms of the partnership, Veolia Water will manage approximately 65 employees.

A key differentiator of Veolia Water’s proposal was the company’s comprehensive project team of local and minority subcontractors. Veolia Water will provide ongoing business partnership with these subcontractors in a protégé-mentor relationship.

Veolia Water is no stranger to Fulton County, as the company has operated Atlanta- Fulton County’s 90-MGD north area Water Treatment Facility for 20 years. This project partnership has won more than 50 industry awards, including the OSHA VPP Gold Star Award for sustained excellence in environmental health and safety compliance, and in 2006, the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships.