CH2M HILL's Ave Maria Project Earns New York Tri-State Region of Design-Build Institute of America Project of the Year Award

By: Lori Irvine
Source: CH2M HILL

DENVER, 20 October 2008 — CH2M HILL, a global full-service engineering, procurement, construction and operations firm, received the Project of the Year Award from the New York Tri-State Region of the Design-Build Institute of America. The firm was recognized for its work on the Ave Maria Water Treatment Plant and Water Reclamation Facility in Ave Maria, Fla.

The Project of the Year Award was granted in the water and wastewater category, and was presented at the New York Tri-State Region DBIA Award Dinner in Newark, New Jersey, on Oct. 16.

Ave Maria is a new, master-planned community built in southwest Florida that includes a university, more than 1 million square feet of commercial property, and about 11,000 homes. The development represents a unique approach to building a town because it has been developed in conjunction with a new university and oratory, which form the center of the community.

CH2M HILL was chosen to design, build, and operate the utility infrastructure. It led the permitting, design, construction, and operation of the centrally located 1.67 million gallon-per-day water and 1.25 million gallon-per-day wastewater facilities, including a wetlands treatment system. The wastewater treatment plant produces reclaimed quality water for public irrigation including residential lawns and landscaping. CH2M HILL also designed a natural treatment wetland system to provide a sustainable, environmentally beneficial, wet-weather storage system.

The completed wetlands system results in the hydrologic and ecological restoration of 160 acres of cypress wetland and marsh using highly treated reclaimed water. Public-use facilities include hiking trails, boardwalks, information kiosks, and overlooks. CH2M HILL also performs comprehensive administrative services for the Ave Maria Utility Company, LLLP.

Last November, CH2M HILL was awarded the national Merit Award from DBIA for the Ave Maria project, in the category of water and wastewater projects over $15 million.

About Design-Build Institute New York Tri-State Region
The Design-Build Institute of America is a membership organization that was founded in 1993 to advocate and advance single-source project delivery within the design and construction community. The New York Tri-State Region of the DBIA was founded in 1999 to focus on this objective throughout New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, Southern Connecticut and Northern and Central New Jersey.

Headquartered near Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in engineering, procurement, construction, management and operations for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. With $6.4 billion in revenue and more than 25,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2008). The firm's work is concentrated in the areas of energy, water, transportation, environmental, nuclear and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer, including being named by FORTUNE as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For (2009).
Visit www.ch2mhill.com.