(McCarthy Building Companies image)
McCarthy Building Companies has completed construction at Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility in Leawood, Kan., one of the world's largest aqua-aerobic disk filtration system installations for dual-use filtration. Begun in 2018, the project was completed on schedule and on budget. The ribbon cutting was held May 4, 2022.
Located in Johnson County, Kan., the $270 million expansion is approximately 30 percent greater than its previous footprint and represents a complete overhaul of the existing facility, which began operation in 1955 with numerous expansions and upgrades over the years.
"Making this type of investment in the infrastructure of Johnson County is crucial," said Ed Eilert, chairman of the Johnson County board of county commissioners. "Through this investment and the expertise of everyone who worked on the project, Johnson County Wastewater residents served by Tomahawk Creek don't have to think about wastewater treatment, they can rest assured that this important service is being taken care of by a facility that will meet future water quality regulations and control costs."
The current expansion includes more than 30 new structures; more than 130 installed pumps; three tower cranes; 50,000 cu. yds. of concrete; more than 9 mi. of underground utilities; and 792 deep foundation drilled shafts.
The Tomahawk Creek WWTF was a joint project of Johnson County Wastewater, McCarthy Building Companies-Kansas City, Black & Veatch and HDR. Due to the complexity and tight schedule, Johnson County chose to use the collaborative delivery method of construction manager at risk (CMAR) with McCarthy serving as the construction manager. In addition, McCarthy's fully owned subsidiary, Castle Contracting, provided concrete services, making the project's concrete all self-performed.
"Building water infrastructure projects like the Tomahawk Creek WWTF are not only economic drivers for local communities where we live and work, but they also provide sustainable resources that will greatly benefit future generations," said BJ Peterson, vice president of operations, McCarthy Building Companies in Kansas City.
The Tomahawk Creek WWTF serves about 150,000 residents and is one of five wastewater treatment facilities serving approximately one-half million residents in the region. In addition to improving water quality while providing cost-effective long-term treatment solutions for Johnson County customers, the new facility has the capacity to treat wet and dry weather flows from 19 million gal. per day (MGD) to 172 MGD.
During much of the construction, flow received at facility had been diverted to Kansas City, Mo., for treatment. Following the commissioning phase conducted from September 2021 through March 2022, all flows have been treated through the plant.
About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies Inc. is the oldest, privately-held national construction company in the country — with nearly 160 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients. With a focus on safety and a comprehensive quality program that span all phases of every project.
With approximately 6,000 salaried employees and craft professionals, the firm has offices in St. Louis; Atlanta; Collinsville, Ill.; Kansas City, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Denver; Austin, Dallas and Houston; and San Diego, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.
For more information, visit mccarthy.com.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure.
Since 1915, it has helped clients by addressing the resilience and reliability of important infrastructure assets.
For more information, visit bv.com.
About HDR
HDR began in 1917 as a one-office firm with 12 employees designing water and sewer systems for new cities and towns throughout the Midwest. More than 100 years later, with more than 11,000 employees worldwide, HDR is now one of the largest full-service architecture and engineering firms in the United States.
HDR offers its clients comprehensive professional engineering services in water, wastewater, stormwater, transportation, power and construction administration. Its five offices throughout Missouri and Kansas are comprised of more than 210 multi-disciplined professionals, who work daily with other recognized HDR experts across the country.
For more information, visit hdrinc.com.
Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility
Location, Timeline
- Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF), 10701 Lee Blvd., Leawood, KS 66211
- Construction began in 2018 and completed in 2022.
Project Highlights
- One of the world's largest Aqua-Aerobic disk filtration system installation for dual-use filtration
- During construction flow received at facility diverted for treatment to Kansas City, Mo.
- Site includes more than 30 new structures
- More than 130 installed pumps on site
- Three tower cranes
- 50,000 cu. yds. of concrete
- More than 9 mi. of underground utilities
- Eight disk filter tanks with 24 disks per tank
Construction Details
- Demolition and decommissioning of existing facilities
- Establishing temporary provisions for flow diversion.
- Site work includes grading and drainage, underground piping, site roads and constructing a site bridge.
- Providing earthen channel to mitigate flood impacts to site and upstream communities.
- Modifications to Lee Boulevard to accommodate site access.
- Influent junction and flow-control structures
- Influent and peak flow pump station
- Headworks building
- Primary clarifiers
- Biological nutrient removal basins
- Final clarifiers, associated pump stations and splitter structures
- Tertiary pump station
- Filtration complex
- Chemical disinfection
- Effluent reaeration structure
- Gravity thickeners
- Solids process building which includes thickening and dewatering
- Solids digestion and gas storage
- Waste gas flares
- Administration/Maintenance Building
Advanced Construction Technologies
- Drone pilot on-site for real-time coordination photos.
- Utilizing XS10 scanning technology for accurate layout and as-built.
- Use of Trimble Earthworks for GPS enabled heavy equipment for precise excavations with proper sloping and location.
- 3D modeling technology for entire plant to facilitate construction coordination, eliminate conflicts and enhance quality.
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