Seattle, WA – The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Washington Chapter held the annual Engineering Excellence Awards on Friday, February 2, 2024. Parametrix received a Gold Award in the water and stormwater categories for the LOTT Clean Water Alliance’s Budd Inlet Treatment Plant Biological Process Improvements and a Gold Award in the special projects category for King County’s Eastlake Sammamish Trail project. ACEC’s Engineering Excellence Awards competition recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value, and ingenuity.
Budd Inlet Treatment Plant Biological Process Improvements
LOTT is recognized as an industry leader in progressive treatment approaches. The Budd Inlet Treatment Plant discharges treated effluent to Budd Inlet and the greater Puget Sound and must meet stringent discharge limits. LOTT implemented biological nutrient removal (BNR) in 1994, one of only a few plants discharging to Puget Sound to do so. The BNR process removes nutrients from wastewater, particularly nitrogen, which can lead to nutrient loading in the Sound, causing algae blooms and oxygen depletion which harms the marine ecosystem.
This major process improvement project took BNR to the next level by reconfiguring and consolidating the BNR process, enhancing monitoring and controls systems, and replacing aging equipment with state-of-the-art technologies. With these improvements, LOTT has achieved total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) levels as low as 0.4 milligrams per liter and averaging 1.6 milligrams per liter, compared to the 3 milligrams per liter permit limit. Several best practices for energy efficiency were implemented, resulting in energy savings of 2.2 million kilowatt-hours per year and saving approximately $180,000 annually for LOTT. The plant control system is one of the most capable and advanced in the country and allows LOTT operations staff to optimize control strategies for conditions.
“The project positions LOTT to serve a growing community while simultaneously reducing the emissions and water quality impacts to the receiving waters of Budd Inlet and the entire South Puget Sound. This project is a shining example of how an integrated delivery approach led to a better design, construction, and commissioning process that meets LOTT’s long-term requirements.”
– Matt Kennelly, LOTT Executive Director
In addition to Parametrix, the consultant team included Tetra Tech, Cascade Energy, AMEC Earth & Environmental, SSA Acoustics, Sound Urban Forestry, JMJ Team, and KMB Architects. Prospect Construction was the general contractor.
East Lake Sammamish Trail
The East Lake Sammamish Trail provides a safe, accessible paved path for people of all ages and abilities to walk, ride, roll, and bike. The 11-mile corridor runs along Lake Sammamish in a former rail corridor through Redmond, Sammamish, and Issaquah, WA, and is an important linkage in the regional trails network. In 1998, Parametrix began working with King County on master planning for the corridor and led a region-wide community engagement effort to guide development. An interim-use gravel trail opened to the public in 2006 while plans were developed for the long-term, wider, paved trail with full amenities. The trail features a twelve-foot-wide asphalt surface with two-foot-wide gravel shoulders on each side, plus rest areas, driveway and road intersections, improved drainage, fencing, and signage.
The 11-mile trail corridor includes 300 adjacent private properties, 78 wetlands, 46 streams, cultural resources, four watersheds, and nine basins draining to the lake. The design incorporates 132 walls that minimize the trail footprint and impacts to adjacent natural and built environments. Around 4,700 trees and 98,000 sustainable native shrubs were planted, and ten acres of wetland mitigation were provided. Eleven fish passage culverts were constructed. Over 65 driveway and roadway crossings and 60 stairs adjacent to the corridor were reconstructed.
“The Parametrix team has partnered with King County through all phases of the project from master planning and grant preparation, permitting, design, and construction. This has been a true collaboration between our teams and community partners to overcome a variety of challenges including multiple lawsuits, permit appeals, and the need to obtain permits and approvals from multiple jurisdictions, The team carefully balanced the complexity of intricate adjacent land uses with project design and construction implementation.”
– Warren Jimenez, Director, King County Parks & Recreation Division
In addition to Parametrix, the consultant team included ESA, Icicle Creek Engineers, Global Geophysics, Otto Rosenau & Associates, American Forest Management, and Universal Field Services. KLB Construction was the general contractor for the final phase of construction.
About Parametrix
Parametrix is a 100-percent employee-owned consulting firm helping clients deliver resilient infrastructure, livable communities, and environmentally sustainable solutions. From offices across the Western United States, our team of engineers, planners, scientists, landscape architects, surveyors, project managers, and construction managers are helping our clients imagine what’s possible and create tomorrow, together. Learn more at https://www.parametrix.com/
