DC Water PCS Support and Construction Management
Blue Plains WWTP, Washington DC
Several key members of the CWD team have provided a variety of PCS services at DC Water’s Blue Plains facility in Washington DC under contracts spanning 2012 to the present. DC Water has been in the midst of significant facility improvements for nearly a decade on both the liquid and solids treatment processes. The CWD team has focused our support primarily on the more than $270M of improvements to the liquid side processes, as well as other general PCS support tasks on and off site as discussed below.
DC Water operates the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, the largest such plant in the world. They provide wastewater collection and treatment services to more than two million Washington metro area customers with a plant capacity to treat 370 MGD. CWD’s service at Blue Plains has included many facets of process control and instrumentation work, including PCS standardization, design review, construction phase services, troubleshooting and related tasks. Below are highlights of our services to DC Water.
Design Review Services
Chris DiDio has provided design phase review of the instrumentation and controls discipline for multiple projects, including Enhanced Nutrient Removal – North, Filtrate Treatment Facility, Gravity Thickener Upgrades Phase II, and Raw Wastewater Pumping Station 2. PCS review tasks included review of the following:
- PCS topology drawings Instrumentation and controls layout plans
- Process and Instrumentation Drawings (P&IDs)
- Control panel layouts and control schematic drawings
- Instrument Mounting Details Instrumentation and controls specifications
- PCS Control Narratives
Construction Phase Services
Chris DiDio served as a Control Systems Engineer providing the following process controls related services spanning multiple construction projects:
- Review of submittals, including instrumentation, control panels, input/output lists, and other PCS related submittals
- Response to contractor Requests for Information
- Review of change order scopes and cost proposals
- Led monthly I&C coordination meetings with the Owner, construction manager, contractor, and instrumentation supplier to address open issues.
- Coordinated and attended factory tests of control panels for multiple projects. Verified proper fabrication in accordance with the contract documents and applicable codes. Performed detailed testing of panel operation, assisted with troubleshooting of any deficiencies, and provided recommendations for corrective action.
PCS Support Services
CWD Consulting has provided a variety of PCS Support services to DC Water as needs have dictated. Below are some examples.
- Chris DiDio provided standardization services to help streamline the design and construction processes related to process controls work at the Blue Plains facility. For example, several recent construction projects experienced recurring issues with coordination of PCS Input/Output databases. The issue involved discrepancies between various versions of the I/O lists managed by the Owner, Contractor, and PCS Supplier. Mr. DiDio was asked to provide a forensic analysis of the projects and recommend improvements to the design and construction management procedures as necessary to simplify management of the I/O List from design through implementation.
- Chris DiDio reviewed proposed gearing and operator assemblies for sluice gates located below grade at a wastewater pumping station for viable alternatives. The gates were proposed to be actuated via a portable electric actuator and no permanently mounted actuators were proposed, with the drawback being no verifiable indication of gate position. The Owner requested alternatives to operate the gates and provide positive position feedback while maintaining clear space above the working floor (i.e. no rising stems above the floor). Mr. DiDio recommended solutions involving alternative level instruments to monitor the gate positions, including submersible pressure transducers and bubbler devices.