WilsonMiller’s design of an emergency water main replacement program in southwest Florida earned the firm its second consecutive Consultant of the Year award from the Florida Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA). The award was presented at an April 23 luncheon during the Florida APWA’s annual meeting, held at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando.
WilsonMiller was recognized as the 2007 Consultant of the Year in the field of solid waste/wastewater/storm water/water for its efforts on a horizontal directional drilling project associated with the Greater Pine Island Water Association emergency water main replacement. The project was facilitated through WilsonMiller’s Fort Myers office.
Last year, WilsonMiller was named Consultant of the Year in the same category for a Bahia Vista/Lockwood Ridge floodplain reclamation project in Sarasota.
The award-winning Pine Island project, which marked one of the longer horizontal directional drilling (HDD) applications in the country, became necessary following Hurricane Wilma in October 2005. The storm severely damaged a portion of the existing water transmission main under the Matlacha Drawbridge. As a result, the Greater Pine Island Water Association, Inc., which services Matlacha and other barrier island communities, was unable to provide adequate fire flow to the Matlacha area east of the bridge or to its “off-island” commercial and residential customers on Cape Coral.
The WilsonMiller design team decided to use HDD technology to replace the existing water main, which was constructed in mid-1960s. The project encompasses a total length of approximately 2,915 ft, at a depth of cover below the mudline, 97 ft below the Matlacha Pass waterway. Construction of this historic directional drill commenced in November 2006.
“The project serves as an example of the successful integration of utility engineering expertise, team leadership, consensus-building skills and creative problem-solving,” said WilsonMiller Vice President Jeffrey A. Wilson, P.E., who leads the firm’s Public Infrastructure Business Unit, which develops cost-effective solutions for everyday public water needs and provides leadership for community response and recovery during natural disasters.
“Florida is facing many environmental, economic and societal challenges in accommodating its growing population,” Wilson said. “The holistic approach utilized in this project yielded a solution that offers promise for other regions facing similar problems.”
Source: WilsonMiller
