The University Area Joint Authority Beneficial Wastewater Reuse project has received statewide recognition by the Diamond Awards for Engineering Excellence Program sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania.

The project was designed by Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc.

This unique wastewater treatment design, which is the largest Beneficial Reuse project of its kind in the Northeastern United States, won the top award in the water and wastewater category.

The Diamond Award Program "recognizes the outstanding contributions of Pennsylvania engineering firms for enhancing the social and economic welfare of the Commonwealth and its citizens." Representatives from HRG and UAJA were presented with the 2006 Diamond Honor Award at a banquet at the Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pennsylvania on February 2.

“We are pleased that the exceptional efforts of those involved with this project are being recognized,” said HRG’s president Robert Grubic. “Keeping focused on the client’s goals for their community’s well-being along with implementing state of the art technology contributed to the overwhelming success of this complex innovative project.”

HRG, serving as the lead engineering and project management firm, designed innovative water reuse system to provide additional wastewater treatment capacity to meet the future needs of the growing Centre Region of Pennsylvania while preventing an increase in the discharge of warm treated wastewater to Spring Creek, a High Quality Trout fishery.

UAJA currently provides advanced treatment of wastewater to 5 municipalities and approximately 74,000 people within the Centre Region comprised of the communities surrounding the Borough of State College and the Pennsylvania State University.

The rapid commercial and residential growth in the area resulted in UAJA’s treated wastewater becoming the majority of flow in Spring Creek, the largest waterway in the region. Numerous studies concluded that Spring Creek had a limited ability to assimilate the thermal impacts of additional discharges without a severe impact on the native trout populations.

The Beneficial Reuse process was chosen for its positive environmental impact and the ability to use reclaimed water to create an ultra pure water resource from effluent traditionally “dumped” into Spring Creek.

This project involved expanding a 6.0 million gallons per day (mgd) wastewater treatment plant to 10.4 mgd with the addition of a biological nutrient removal treatment system to remove nitrogen and phosphorus. In addition, an advanced water treatment system was built to recycle a portion of the treated wastewater flow prior to discharge by producing up to 3.0 mgd of recycled potable-grade water.

UAJA’s Beneficial Reuse project is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, and treats wastewater to produce high-quality water that will be used for many applications, including process water by area manufacturers, to supply fire hydrants, for irrigation by local farmers and golf courses, and for groundwater recharge.

For more information, visit the Beneficial Wastewater Reuse Project PaED story.

2/24/2006