Story

This greenfield plant sits on 38 acres and services the Townships of Plainfield, Alpine, Cannon and Courtland and the City of Rockford. It has been described as one of the most modern and beautiful wastewater plants in the world. Hired approximately nine months prior to the start of construction to help with constructability, budgeting, and cost effectiveness, NWK faced their biggest challenge by starting the construction process while the design plans were still not fully complete. PARCC Side uses very modern technologies in its processes. It uses a filtration system called Membrane Bioreactor Technology, which separates the solids from the liquid by pulling the treated water through tiny microscopic pours. The treated water discharged to the Grand River is cleaner than what is in the river. Conventional technological uses gravity clarifiers that allow solids to settle, rather than creating a physical barrier which separates the water and solids. The plant can treat an average daily flow of 6 million gallons. The plant uses ultraviolet light to disinfect the wastewater. The UV light mutates the bacteria’s DNA so that it cannot reproduce. Older technologies involve the use of hazardous chlorine. The screw pumps’ firm capacity is 16 million gallons per day. The plant also houses three bioreactor tanks. The combined size is 300’ long, 120’ wide and 22’ tall. NWK installed approximately $1.5 million of mechanical piping material on this project, which included $200,000 of stainless steel, $100,000 of chemical piping, $575,000 of carbon steel, and ductile iron pipe, among others.