Plant 30 Wellhead Treatment, Construction Management/Observation
Monte Vista Water District
In June 2020, Monte Vista Water District (MVWD) was awarded a $3.4 million grant from California’s Department of Water Resources to help fund the Plant 30 Wellhead Treatment Project – the largest infrastructure project the district has undertaken in its 93-year history. The project aims to improve water quality for stricter regulations, including treating for 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) a man-made ingredient in pesticides applied to farm fields from the 1950s to the 1980s. The project has treatment goals to reduce nitrate levels below maximum contaminant level (MCL) requirements. The Plant 30 Wellhead treatment project will provide groundwater treatment for Wells 30, 32, and 33. MVWD owns wells 30 and 32, and Well 33 is co-owned with the City of Chino. Due to space constraints at Wells 32 and 33, water from Wells 32 and 33 is conveyed to the Well 30 site for treatment. Phase 1 of the project will provide the capacity to treat up to 4,000 gpm and Phase 2 expansion will facilitate the treatment of up to 6,000 gpm.
The proposed treatment process includes GAC for 1,2,3-TCP adsorption, bag filtration (future bag filters upstream of GAC if needed, future bag filters between GAC and IX if needed), and IX for nitrate and perchlorate removal. A new chemical building was constructed to house the new sodium hypochlorite storage and feed system and future caustic storage and feed system for the treated water pH adjustment if found to be necessary.
After the design was completed and a bidding package contracted, MVWD awarded Civiltec the construction management and observation services for the Plant 30 Wellhead Treatment Project. Plant 30 is an integral component of the MVWD’s overall objectives of providing a reliable source of water from a local system. MVWD anticipated that future shutdowns from import water sources will have a dramatic impact on supply to their system. Our team also executed key communications between MVWD, the design engineer, the City of Ontario and Montclair for permitting, Inland Empire Utilities agencies for brine discharge permitting, the prime contractor, subcontractors, and the selected materials testing firm. The construction contract was completed over a 24-month time period with the majority of the on-site improvements associated with treatment, chemical equipment, buildings, site improvement, drainage, yard piping, electrical, and communications happening over a 16-month time frame.
The Civiltec team consisted of Shem Hawes, PE (Project Manager), Sky Younger, PE (Lead Electrical Engineer), Alec Escamilla (staff engineer), and Jerry Mesa (Construction Observer). Project execution was established through a united effort between all project participants ultimately resulting in a successfully operating treatment facility.
