Is CMAR the Best Delivery Solution for your PFAS Problem?

by | Nov 2, 2021

Perfluroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly referred to as PFAS) are impacting drinking water supplies nationwide. These emerging contaminants are challenging municipalities, water districts, and all water providers. Unlike system capacity increases and aging facilities incorporated into long-term planning, PFAS levels spike, forcing owners to take immediate actions to maintain water quality and the need for regulations surrounding them to change quickly. Do you need a PFAS solution?

Construction management at-risk (CMAR) may be your collaborative solution. Consider these CMAR features to enable a successful PFAS project delivery:

  • Time Sensitive. A traditional delivery may not fit the project timetable.
  • Budget Assurance. The CMAR delivery method expedites a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) to verify project funding.
  • Implementation Logistics. To streamline construction efforts, the engineer and CMAR work concurrently to solve problems on paper.
  • Early Equipment Procurement. CMAR expedites delivery of long-lead treatment equipment to mitigate project schedule delays.
  • Flexibility. CMAR gives the ability to react and incorporate any design modifications required due to any additional PFAS contamination to the water supply.
  • Transparency. The CMAR delivery method assures best value to the owner as the owner, engineer, and CMAR work collaboratively through each step of the project from preconstruction to completion.

One example is the Woodbury Temporary PFAS Water Treatment Plant project in Woodbury, Minnesota. Woodbury had 5 of their 19 municipal wells exceeding the health-based guidance value (HBV) and/or health risk index (HRI) value. The City immediately shut these five wells off. In the winter of 2020, The City of Woodbury faced summer 2021 water demands that could not be met with the aforementioned five wells offline. To solve their PFAS problem, the City selected the CMAR project delivery method to have a secure and fully operational 4.8-mgd treatment plant in under six months.

CMAR projects allow the contractor to be involved in preconstruction services to help deliver the project more efficiently. CMAR meant the construction professionals were in the room delivering the pricing, developing the schedule, and providing real-time feedback to the stakeholders and decision makers. The entire project team worked seamlessly to achieve an on-time project delivery, despite a global pandemic with pricing uncertainty.

Jim Westerman, Assistant Public Works Director for the City of Woodbury, said of this award-winning project, “It can’t be emphasized enough how important collaboration and communication were to the success of this project. It truly is the shiny apple of this whole project.”

The critical and time-sensitive nature of PFAS projects makes them a great candidate for collaborative project delivery methods such as CMAR, allowing for quick implementation, flexible construction, and providing early cost certainty to ensure an expedited project timeline.