Joint Base Lewis-McChord recently announced that CDM Constructors Inc., of Bellevue, was awarded a $77,476,628 firm-fixed price contract to design and build a Class A wastewater treatment plant for the growing installation.

"We are ecstatic about winning the job," said Robert Davis of CDM Smith, Inc., a company that conducts about $1 billion worth of work worldwide annually and oversees CDM Constructors in the Puget Sound. "We do a lot of Department of Defense work, specifically design and construction, but wastewater treatment plants are a specialty of ours."

The existing wastewater treatment plant is located near Solo Point off of DuPont-Steilacoom Road, about 1.5 miles south of the JBLM North gate, and is an older plant. The new plant, according to Davis, will be a Class A facility that can treat 10 million gallons of water per day.

"The size the new plant is for a projected base population of 100,000 in 2030," Davis shared.

As of now, the project is slated to receive an official notice to proceed in February from office of the Army Corps of Engineers in Seattle, which is the contracting activity. The initial months of the project will focus on planning and design, so the work will begin in the office. Ground breaking for the work itself is expected to occur this summer.

"On paper, the duration of the project is 1095 days from start to finish, so it will take approximately three years," said Davis, adding that all construction will be conducted at Solo Point, which is owned by JBLM.

The new site will be adjacent to the existing site, but since it will be a completely new treatment plant, CDM anticipates that there will be no disruption in service for those living and working on JBLM.