Iao Surface Water Treatment Plant Upgrades

The new surface water treatment plant, located near the Iao Valley Road on the Island of Maui, was constructed utilizing a micro-filtration surface water treatment process and surface water ditch intake improvements including a traveling screen, a concrete chlorine contactor tank, and a concrete sludge lagoon. Observing surface water treatment rule (SWTR) and interim enhanced surface water treatment rule (IESWTR), the new plant is designed to provide protection from microbial pathogens and minimize health risks to the surrounding population. The project included all civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, SCADA, architectural, finish grade, and landscaping work. This 21.7-million-dollar facility has increased the daily output flow of clean, fresh, ready-to-drink water to 1.7 million gallons per day from its previous facility of just 500,00 gallons per day, using state-of-the-art filtration and automation for the Island of Maui.

Completed in March 2019, the facility has provided countless residents with safe, clean drinking water. The ACEC Engineering Excellence 2020 Excellence Award was extended to Austin, Tsutsumi & Associates, Inc. for their work on the project. Ivan K. Nakatsuka, Chief Environmental Engineer at the firm, said the following about the Iao surface water treatment plant:

“Receiving this award was only possible because of the hard work and successful partnering effort of our consultant team, the Maui Department of Water Supply and Bodell Construction and their subcontractors. Mahalo to all for a job well done.”