Engineering Inc. - May/June 2007 - 30

AC E C 2 0 0 7 EnginEE ring Ex CE ll EnCE AwArds h  Sweetwater Creek State Park Visitor Center, Lithia Springs, Ga. Long Engineering, Inc.—Atlanta, Ga. As a gateway to Sweetwater Creek State Park, the new 8,743square-foot Visitor Center is a beacon of sustainability and one of only 20 buildings to achieve a Platinum LEED certification for energy efficiency and environmentally conscious design. The project team overcame limited access to potable water and no access to a public sewer by integrating a 15,000-gallon underground water storage system and a roof garden that absorbs rainwater, a portion of which is diverted to a 10,000-gallon underground cistern for reuse in a mop sink and restrooms. Wastewater is treated and used for irrigation in an ecologically healthy manner, resulting in a 77 percent reduction of potable water use and making it one of the most unique and sustainable buildings ever built. h  World Class Biosolids Incineration Systems, Ypsilanti, Mich. Tetra Tech, Inc.—Ann Arbor, Mich. In response to the city of Ypsilanti’s need to replace an antiquated municipal hearth biosolids incinerator, the project team designed a state-of-the-art biosolids system that now is being used as a model by engineers and municipalities nationwide. The system features a fluidized bed incinerator with a world-class, four-step emissions control process and the first U.S. municipal incinerator use of granular activated carbon absorption. Capacity has been increased by 60 percent, and emissions now are significantly lower than Michigan’s standards for airborne-released toxins. h  30 Okeechobee’s Innovative Surface Water Plant, Okeechobee, Fla. LBFH, Inc., a Boyle Engineering Company—Palm City, Fla. Florida’s Lake Okeechobee for the first time is being used as a raw water source for the city of Okeechobee, which previously depended on the limited capacity of the Florida Aquifer as its only water source. The project team designed a state-of-the-art treatment facility with a combination of innovative technologies to turn the lake’s surface into sustainable, high-quality water. New technologies include microsand ballasted flocculation, advanced peroxone disinfection and dual-media filtration. The new plant replaces an antiquated facility built in 1926. ENGINEERING INC. MAY / JUNE 2007 h  University of Virginia Meadow Creek Regional Storm Water Management Plan, Charlottesville, Va. Nitsch Engineering, Inc.—Boston, Mass. Faced with severe flooding at the University of Virginia, the project team designed an overall storm water management plan to mitigate flooding while adding attractive landscape features to the campus. The plan included several natural systems such as an inlet waterfall for aerating storm water, and garden-like biofiltration areas for wastewater treatment and retention. The approach reduced campus flooding, decreased storm water flow to municipal storm sewers and created greater public use of once-dormant areas.

Engineering Inc. - May/June 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - May/June 2007