DC WASA Blue Plains AWTP Final Dewatering Building

Clean water is a fundamental requirement for todays society. We expect to turn a tap and have clean drinkable water available for our needs. The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authoritys (DC WASA) Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWTP) is the largest AWTP in the world. In order to improve the way DC WASA processes and handles biosolids, a long range Biosolids Management Program (BMP) was developed. The Final Dewatering Building is a vital part of the Blue Plains BMP. DC WASAs Blue Plains facility is recognized for being at the forefront of innovative technology development that not only improves the water quality in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, but for aquatic life in waterways that receive wastewater discharges throughout the United States of America.

Modern Water treatment plants must operate flawlessly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. For these reasons, opportunities for continual coating maintenance and maintenance to inaccessible areas of the plant do not exist. The low maintenance requirements of the HDG coating will provide a huge cost savings to DC WASA for the life of the facility. Besides previous Hot-dip galvanizing (HDG) experiences, this was just one of several reasons HDG was the obvious choice for the corrosion protection system by DC WASA. Another factor in choosing HDG, is the harsh corrosive environment of a waste water treatment facility. Not only are wastewater and the wastewater bi-products harsh, but corrosive sewer gasses exist as well. The specification of HDG will help ensure that DC WASA will have a low maintenance and corrosion free operational facility for decades.

Construction deadlines were another top priority for DC WASA. Due to the upcoming winter months, the exterior structure needed to be erected and completely dried in before the harsh winter arrived. Constant communication between the construction contractor, the fabricator and the galvanizer were a key component to the successful construction of the final dewatering facility. The structural steel package consisted of many oversized beam columns and trusses that had to be progressively dipped at two galvanizing facilities. In fact, due to the complex design of the oversized trusses, only one galvanizer would accept the project. The galvanizer was able to utilize another of its plants in close proximity to the jobsite, galvanize and provide a very quick turnaround to meet the construction deadlines. This high profile project was a success and is part of a BMP program that is providing clean water for the entire Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.