Gannett Fleming earns Platinum Award from ACEC New York

Woodbury, N.Y. — The Grass Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) pump system improvements project in Greenwich, Conn., has been honored with a Platinum Award in the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of New York 2014 Engineering Excellence Awards program. It competed in the waste and stormwater category.

As provider of engineering design and construction management services, Gannett Fleming worked with the town of Greenwich to replace the facility’s four secondary effluent pumps, four return activated sludge pumps, and two waste-activated sludge pumps without interrupting daily WWTP operations. Because these pump systems could not go offline, a carefully planned construction-phasing approach was critical to satisfy operational process constraints and maintain wastewater flow throughout the plant.

Pump upgrades were essential to minimize environmental impacts to the seaside community, as well as the Long Island Sound. Located in a residential area of more than 62,000 people, Greenwich’s Grass Island WWTP is adjacent to a boatyard and public walking trails within an environmental preservation area. 

“The Grass Island project demonstrates what can be accomplished through a coordinated and cooperative effort between a contractor, a design engineer, a construction manager, and treatment plant operators,” said Lars Augustin, P.E., Gannett Fleming’s project manager. “Throughout the project, the contractor provided practical, hands-on knowledge of construction-phasing plan implementation that enabled us, as design engineer and construction manager, to seamlessly implement required upgrades.”

The ACEC New York Engineering Excellence Awards Program recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate design achievements of superior skill and ingenuity. Gannett Fleming was presented with the award at the ACEC New York 47th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.