City and Local Firm Earn “2001 Project of the Year” Award on State and National Level
6/16/2001

The City of Grand Forks took on a major undertaking after the flood of 1997 to repair, replace, and improve its water distribution system. The overall project was a conglomeration of 23 separate smaller projects constructed over a 3-year period at a total cost of $21.4 million dollars. The improvements eliminate flow and pressure deficiencies in affected areas, allow for future expansion, and prepare the distribution system for the new clearwell, pumping station, and transmission line scheduled for construction in 2001 and 2002. The project also included advanced features such as a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, hydraulic model, Geographic Information System (GIS), variable speed pumping, elevated and ground storage fill control which allow the system to operate at its maximum efficiency, and radio read automated meter reading system.

For this effort in completing the “Grand Forks Water Distribution System Improvements”, the City of Grand Forks and Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. were recently awarded the North Dakota Public Works Association as well as the American Public Works Association “2001 Project of the Year”. The awards recognize projects that benefit communities by utilizing new applications and innovation and have a positive social or economic impact, as well as projects that add technical value to the engineering profession and/or are complex in nature. Grand Forks Water Distribution Superintendent Dwight Wurzbacher and Advanced Engineering President Charles Vein will be receiving the award at the American Public Works Association National Convention on September 10th in Philadelphia, PA.