Carlsbad Desalination Plant Honored as Project of the Year

The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), the only organization that defines, teaches and promotes design-build best practices, announced the 2016 Project of the Year and National Award of Excellence winners at the recent Design-Build Conference & Expo Awards Dinner.

Fending off competition from 29 projects across nine categories, the $922 million Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, where Arcadis provided engineering design and construction assistance services, was recognized by a distinguished jury as the 2016 Design-Build Project of the Year, the first time a water/wastewater project has received such recognition by DBIA. The 2016 selected projects showcased exemplary collaboration and integration in design-build project delivery, in addition to achieving budget and scheduled goals and exceeding owner expectations.

“This year’s Design-Build Project/Team Award winners are the best we’ve had. Our jury was particularly impressed that as we advance awareness of Design-Build Done Right™, design-build is producing exceptional outcomes as measured by owner satisfaction.” said Lisa Washington, CAE, DBIA’s Executive Director/CEO.

DBIA 2016 Project of the Year – the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant – is the largest desalination facility in the Western Hemisphere, with average production of 50 MGD of fresh, high-quality drinking water. Owned by Poseidon Water and completed by the design-build team of Kiewit Shea Desalination with Arcadis, IDE Technologies and Tetra Tech, it is a harbinger of a new era in which desalination is viewed as a viable solution to water challenges and a way to drought-proof public water supplies. The team also included specialty contractor Morrow-Meadows.

Challenge Design-Build Project Delivery Addressed:

Poseidon Water used the Fixed Price Design-Build delivery model to ensure financial viability of the project and provide performance-based guarantees on water quality, quantity, power consumption and chemical usage while also delivering a drought-proof, reliable water source to drought-stricken Southern California in the shortest possible timeframe.

“This marks the first time a water/wastewater project has been named Project of the Year,” says Lisa Washington. “This clearly shows that design-build can be an excellent choice for any type of project.”