Pittsburgh, PA – At today’s Board of Directors Meeting, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) awarded its $46 million, five-part contract to build a new Highland Reservoir Pump Station. This contract includes mechanical, structural, architectural, site piping, electrical, HVAC, and plumbing work for the new structure. 

The firms awarded this work are as follows: 

• General Contract: P.J. Dick Incorporated 
• Electrical Contract: Right Electric, Inc. 
• Construction Management and Inspection: AECOM Technical Services, Inc. 

Other contracts that have been awarded but did not require board approval include: 

• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Contract: Hranec Corporation 
• Plumbing Contract: SSM Industries, Inc.  

The Highland Reservoir Pump Station creates contracting opportunities for construction firms based locally and across the country. Our procurement policies require a robust and thorough Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) solicitation process. Investing in DBE firms improves the economic vitality of our region and can help to create jobs that stay in our community. The cumulative DBE total of all contracts associated with the Highland Reservoir Pump Station is $5.9 million - meeting our supplier diversity program goal of 10% to 25%.
 
“When completed, the new Highland Park Pump Station will dramatically improve our ability to provide reliable water service to approximately two-thirds of our customers,” said PWSA CEO Will Pickering. “We’re proud to advance this new facility that will reduce the likelihood of service interruptions and low pressure that have caused precautionary boil water advisories in the past.”

This project is the first new building to be constructed in PWSA’s service area in 20 years, marking a new era of PWSA infrastructure investment. This new station will add 56 million gallons per day of additional service as a redundant supply to approximately two thirds of our service area. This dual pumping capability will add critical redundancy and security to our water system. The project also includes upgrades to treatment booster facilities for the large diameter mains exiting the covered Highland II Reservoir. 

“This project will be unique in its scope and the variety of different areas of expertise that are required to build a state-of-the-art water pumping facility,” said PWSA Director of Engineering and Construction Barry King. “We are very excited to bring another piece of the Water Reliability Plan to life and bring more resilience to our water system,” he said.

Phase I of this project is nearing completion and included the construction of new supply mains running from the covered Highland II Reservoir to the new pump station as well as a supply connection between the future pump station and approximately two thirds of our service area.  

This work is part of the Water Reliability Plan, a $470 million suite of once-in-a-generation projects that will improve the resiliency and redundancy of our large-scale pieces of water infrastructure. Several pumping, transmission, and storage assets throughout the PWSA water service area will be upgraded in careful sequence so as not to put any users out of water service.

This will all lead up to the centerpiece project of the Water Reliability Plan, the replacement of the Clearwell, a century old, 40 million gallon water storage and disinfection facility at the Water Treatment Plant. This is a singular piece of infrastructure that cannot be easily taken offline for repairs. This series of work will not only renew key pieces of our system but allow for the replacement of the Clearwell.

Construction of the new pump station is anticipated to begin in early 2024 and complete in 2026. Water service will be maintained for customers in the Highland Park Neighborhood throughout construction. Construction impacts will include truck traffic going to and from the job site, at the intersection of N. Negley Avenue and Mellon Terrace, as well as some noise disturbances for those in the direct vicinity. PWSA will make all possible efforts to reduce the noise impacts of this work. The existing pump station will be demolished after the new structure is built. 

For more information on this project, and other Water Reliability Plan work, visit pgh2o.com/WRP. If your company is interested in bidding on Water Reliability Plan projects, or any other PWSA work, visit pgh2o.com/doing-business.