Water Treatment Plant

The City of Brooklyn Center historically experienced high levels of manganese in its drinking water. The drinking water supply comes from nine groundwater wells that draw water from the Prairie du Chien-Jordan Aquifer. The city wanted to reduce the manganese levels being provided to their consumer’s taps.

Bolton & Menk and city leadership worked together to facilitate key input from team members, discipline experts, and project stakeholders to arrive at the best value processes, controls, operations, and structure for the new water treatment plant. The facilitative design approach led to incorporating multiple processes and operational procedures that protect public and operator health beyond what was initially requested and in ways not previously considered by most metropolitan water treatment plants, including

• Reducing ammonia levels in the city’s distribution system

• Assessing radon released into plant air, controlling the air containing radon, and planning how operators could limit their radon exposure

• Converting to liquid chlorine to avoid risks

The city’s vision and proactive input throughout the project resulted in a 7 MGD water treatment facility with a peaking capacity of 10 MGD that consistently exceeds targeted treatment objectives for manganese and protects public and operator health. In addition, a project spotlight video was produced with a complete overview of the new water treatment facility.