Philadelphia Water Department, Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant

Burns led design of a new Philadelphia Water Department preliminary treatment facility’s mechanical, plumbing, fire-protection, and fire alarm systems.

Once complete, the project will increase system capacity at Philadelphia’s Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant and improve the quality of local waterways.

Part of the city’s Green City, Clean Waters program, the new facility allows PWD to divert up to 300-million gallons per day (mgd) of wastewater and stormwater from the combined sewer system. Doing so will alleviate a bottleneck at the treatment plant that — during heavy storms — can result in discharge of partially treated waters directly into local streams and the Delaware River.

Supporting Whitman, Requardt & Associates (WR&A), Burns’ system designs include:

• A ventilation system that uses energy recovery technologies to reduce facility-wide energy consumption.
• Dilution ventilation system that introduces clean air to minimize odors and reduce airborne contaminants, enabling PWD to achieve the highest indoor air quality standards.
• Condensing boilers that repurpose collected water vapor as a supplemental heat source, achieving maximum efficiency levels of 98 percent.
• Hydronic radiant heaters in the loading dock, improving efficiency and comfort by reducing heat loss when loading doors roll open.
• A fully sprinklered facility that combines wet, dry and pre-action systems, protecting sensitive equipment including critical switchgear within the facility’s unconditioned spaces.
• A fire alarm system that actively monitors activities throughout the facility, including pump conditions.

Construction is scheduled to complete by 2026.

Similar projects include work performed at the Newtown Creek Water Pollution Control Plant and Tulsa Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Rendering courtesy of WR&A