CDM Smith Named Design-Build Institute of America Winner for Work in Boynton Beach, Florida 

NEW ORLEANS — CDM Smith is proud to announce that the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) has awarded the city of Boynton Beach, Florida the 2018 National Merit Award and the 2018 Florida DBIA Best Overall Award. These honors recognize recent, innovative upgrades to the city’s Ion Exchange Resin Plant and East Water Treatment Plant. The project team accepted the awards at DBIA’s annual Design-Build Project Awards Dinner on November 8, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana.   

Faced with a steady population increase that was putting strain on the city’s water supply, Boynton Beach partnered with CDM Smith to design-build a solution that provided residents with the potable water necessary to meet their growing needs. Innovative water system upgrades were required to move inland water to the coast, treat it, and blend it with water from coastal aquifers. The project’s Ion Exchange Resin Plant—the largest in the world—uses a state-of-the-art magnetic ion exchange (MIEX®) pretreat­ment system to achieve drinking water standards while also removing odor and reducing chemical costs.  

Thanks to a progressive design-build delivery approach, the team was able to address several key operational challenges and varying water sources, as well as enhance and benefit the local community. Boynton Beach’s $30.8 million upgrades were completed under budget, allowing the city to incorporate numerous enhance­ments into the project scope, like LED lighting for the city’s iconic water tower, public art instal­la­tion, and a medical clinic for city employees.  

The end result was a best-in-class facility that provides operational flexibility, meets the need of a growing population and is accessible to all in the community. In addition to this year’s DBIA awards, the project was also awarded the Institute for Sustainable Infra­struc­ture Envision award for the envi­ron­men­tally friendly design and construc­tion techniques, and the first Envision award for a water treatment plant in Florida. 

“I truly feel that the planning and collab­o­ra­tion between all the team members allowed for this project to be successful. CDM Smith, the Carollo Design Build Group, and the city made adjustments throughout the project to provide the most value while upgrading the plant to meet the community’s need to diversify water sources, which will protect the local environment and drinking water supply for generations to come. I am most proud of the team’s open commu­ni­ca­tions, seamless teamwork, and proactive handling of issues,” said Suzanne Mechler, PE, BCEE, client service leader.

Established in 1993, the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) is the only orga­ni­za­tion that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build project delivery. Design-build is an integrated approach that delivers design and construc­tion services under one contract with a single point of respon­si­bil­ity. Owners select design-build to achieve best value while meeting schedule, cost and quality goals. Learn more about design-build and DBIA's certi­fi­ca­tion and other programs at dbia.org.

CDM Smith provides lasting and integrated solutions in water, environment, trans­porta­tion, energy and facilities to public and private clients worldwide. As a full-service engineering and construc­tion firm, we deliver exceptional client service, quality results and enduring value across the entire project life cycle.