CDM Smith Selected to Refurbish MWRA’s Deer Island Digesters

BOSTON—The Mass­a­chu­setts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has announced its selection of CDM Smith and its teaming partners to support the Authority in the compre­hen­sive refur­bish­ment of the Deer Island Treatment Plant (DITP) digestion system, providing for resilient and secure wastewater treatment operations over the next two decades. The DITP has been the centerpiece of the Boston Harbor cleanup program, and this project is a major investment in the protection and renewal of this facility and the commitment to maintaining Boston Harbor’s place as one of the cleanest harbors in the country. The DITP is the United States' second-largest water reclamation plant, with a peak capacity of 1.2 billion gallons, and an average daily flow of 350 million gallons. CDM Smith’s history of collab­o­ra­tion with MWRA spans nearly four decades and includes CDM Smith playing a pivotal role in the design of the original digestion system. This innovative system, char­ac­ter­ized by its iconic egg-shaped digesters, has faithfully served the community for nearly thirty years, contribut­ing to the trans­for­ma­tive cleanup of the once-polluted Boston Harbor.

Leveraging cutting-edge tech­nolo­gies for condition assessment purposes, CDM Smith will harness 3D camera walk-throughs, tablet-based Bluebeam data gathering and docu­men­ta­tion, and drone inspections. The scope of the refur­bish­ment encompasses coatings and materials enhance­ments within the anaerobic digesters, and replacement of aging pipelines, pumping systems, digester mixing, and digester heating systems, along with a suite of miscel­la­neous upgrades. These improve­ments will be executed while ensuring unin­ter­rupted operation of the system and will bolster operational efficiency and system performance.

This project will build on CDM Smith’s extensive experience in reha­bil­i­tat­ing residuals facilities, a demon­strated track record of effectively delivering complex projects for the MWRA and a dedicated team that includes veterans from the original residuals facility project in the 1990s. “We are proud to be a trusted partner of the MWRA on pivotal, high-profile under­tak­ings like this one,” said Mike Walsh, project director and senior vice president. “We look forward to continuing our long history of successful collab­o­ra­tion with MWRA on this critical infra­struc­ture project."

CDM Smith is a privately owned engineering and construc­tion firm providing legendary client service and smart solutions in water, environment, trans­porta­tion, energy, and facilities. Passionate about our work and invested in each other, we are inspired to think and driven to solve the world’s envi­ron­men­tal and infra­struc­ture challenges.