AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, has been awarded a contract by the Water Utility of the City of Madison to provide per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) solutions for municipal drinking water treatment facilities. In this role, AECOM will deliver engineering design for the installation of PFAS treatment systems and upgrade well equipment and building architecture. The final design, which upon completion will become Wisconsin’s first municipal PFAS treatment facility, will be tailored to meet rigorous Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Wisconsin Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding requirements.
“In the last two years, we’ve worked with more than a dozen Wisconsin clients to monitor and treat this ‘forever chemical’ at sites across the state,” said Travis Boone, chief executive of AECOM’s U.S. West region. “As we continue to deliver Sustainable Legacies in partnership with our clients, we’re proud to apply our regional experience and industry-leading PFAS technical services to support this first-of-its-kind project, one that will help Madison leverage the latest federal and state funds to continue to provide safe, high-quality drinking water to its residents.”
The treatment system will return a municipal well to service, employing granular activated carbon filtration technology to remove PFAS that were first detected in 2017. To restore operation and introduce treatment technologies, AECOM will deliver bench scale testing for PFAS removal using Rapid Small-Scale Column Testing (RSSCT) and design for renovation of well facilities to incorporate PFAS treatment and upgrade controls, structural elements, HVAC systems, and electrical components. In addition, the project will incorporate community and stakeholder engagement as a critical part of the design process.
“PFAS contamination is one of the greatest environmental concerns of our time. As a global leader in PFAS solutions, we’re proud to work with our clients to provide wide-ranging capabilities that help mitigate this prevalent and persistent threat,” said Rosa Gwinn, vice president and global PFAS technical lead with AECOM. “Our close collaboration with the Madison Water Utility and those it serves embodies our commitment to delivering projects that support the health of our communities, leave an enduring social impact, and help deliver a better world.”
AECOM is committed to delivering transformative environmental, social, and governance objectives through its Sustainable Legacies strategy so that the work it does in partnership with its clients leaves a positive impact for years to come. The firm has more than two decades of experience monitoring and treating PFAS across sectors and surfaces, including water sources, concrete, soil, and other wastes. In addition to granular carbon filtration water treatment systems, AECOM offers PRedictive Integrated Stratigraphic Modeling (PRISM®), a cost-effective, state-of-the-art approach to track contaminants in groundwater, and DE-FLUORO™, a world-first economically and environmentally sustainable treatment technology that sustainably destroys PFAS from contaminated liquids.
