Water and Wastewater Treatment and Conveyance

WSP USA provides innovative solutions and technologies for planning, engineering and management to improve the effectiveness of operations, maintenance and replacement of aging and failing drinking water and wastewater treatment and conveyance systems.  We deliver a full range of planning, design and construction management services for outfalls, pipelines, pump stations, flow control facilities and other special structures related to water and wastewater— all intended to improve water quality while meeting strict environmental regulations. 

We have completed planning, design and permitting of numerous municipally owned wastewater systems for new, rehabilitated or expanded wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater treatment design has involved current technologies in biological nutrient removal and advanced wastewater treatment from relatively small systems to regional wastewater treatment systems.

For water and wastewater conveyance systems, our experience includes planning, condition assessment, new and rehabilitation design, and construction management of water transmission and sanitary sewer pipeline systems, as well as outfalls, pump station and other major flow control related to the transmission and conveyance of water, wastewater, and reclaimed wastewater. We have extensive experience in solving combined sewer overflow and sanitary sewer overflow problems includes separation of sewer and storm water collection systems, area-wide storage and transport remedies, and state-of-the-art gray and green infrastructure technologies.

Desalination converts brackish or saline water to fresh water that is suitable for potable or industrial uses. The process is increasingly being used in both inland and coastal areas where conventional freshwater resources are unavailable or else currently used resources are being adversely impacted by overuse.

Desalination systems have four main components: the intake system, pretreatment steps, the actual desalination system and the concentrate disposal systems. Reverse-osmosis (RO) is now the most commonly used desalination process for new systems. However, multistage flash distillation (MSF), multiple-effect distillation (MED), electrodialysis reversal (EDR), and other processes are preferred in some circumstances. Raw water supply and concentrate disposal can be critical feasibility, regulatory, and economic issues.

Selection of the type of desalination plant is part of the overall optimization of the desalination/power cycle. Studies are performed covering water balance, water cost calculations, thermodynamic considerations, and material properties to ensure minimum cost and optimum process. Efficiency, reliability, and maintenance costs are forecasted, and reservoir capacity, blending plant, intake, and brine effluent systems are then considered to meet water consumption and site requirements.