McCarthy Building Companies Selected as Contractor for Expansion of Sioux Falls Regional Water Reclamation Plant

McCarthy Building Companies Inc.’s Water Services team has been selected as the construction manager at-risk for the $215-million expansion of the Sioux Falls Regional Water Reclamation Plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The first major expansion since the plant was built in the 1980s, it is expected to increase the facility’s capacity by 50% — from 21 to 30 million gallons per day — and enhance operational efficiencies to meet growing demand throughout the community and region. The expansion will also position the facility for future regulatory requirements.

Improvements for the facility include:

• Construction of a new three-story “headworks” building, where wastewater initially enters the treatment process
• Installation of new generators at the existing plant, which will also undergo an extensive electrical system upgrade
• Installation of three additional aeration basins where wastewater is treated by microbes, as well as four “final clarifiers,” which are large circular pools where solids separate from treated water
• Expansion of an area of the plant where water is treated with chlorine, including the addition of more storage tanks

Site preparation began in fall 2021 and notice to proceed for the main project was effective as of July 5, 2022. In addition to moving 27,000 cubic yards of dirt to prepare for construction, work has included placing the first 5,000 cubic yards of the 16,000 cubic yards of concrete projected, installing the first two miles of the planned eight miles of underground piping, and operating two tower cranes onsite. Additional site preparation has included the installation of temporary electrical power lines for the blower building, lime feed silos, and other work.

Expected to be completed by 2025, the project received funding through loans from the State Revolving Fund, a state-level program that provides low-interest loans to water, wastewater and sewer projects.

In addition to McCarthy, project partners include Carollo Engineers, Inc. and Henry Carlson Construction of Sioux Falls.