COWI has been selected by the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) to provide construction management services for the Syphon Reservoir Improvement Project, the largest project in IRWD’s history and one of the most extensive water infrastructure upgrades in Southern California.
Working in a joint venture with GFT (formerly Gannett Fleming), COWI will support the project from pre-construction through completion. Responsibilities include constructability reviews, assistance with the contractor bidding process, contract administration, resident engineering, quality assurance, and risk management. The team will also coordinate with IRWD’s environmental monitoring and public outreach efforts.
The expansion will increase Syphon Reservoir’s storage capacity tenfold, allowing it to hold up to 5,000 acre-feet of recycled water. According to IRWD, the project is intended to strengthen regional water supply reliability, improve climate resilience, and reduce imported water costs.
The Syphon Reservoir project will expand the district’s ability to store and reuse recycled water for irrigation and other purposes, reducing demand on drinking water supplies
“This is a significant milestone for COWI in Southern California,” said Arun Parsons, Vice President, COWI North America. “We’re impressed by IRWD’s bold implementation of the largest project in their history to maximize the storage and use of recycled water, and it reflects exactly the kind of forward-thinking and industry-leading approach that COWI champions. With our experience delivering dam and reservoir projects under California’s stringent regulatory and environmental requirements, we are well positioned to lead this project team through construction to deliver a Syphon Reservoir that provides safe, sustainable and cost-effective water to the region for generations to come.”
IRWD, an early adopter of recycled water systems, developed the “purple pipe” network that has since become a global standard for non-potable water infrastructure. The Syphon Reservoir project will expand the district’s ability to store and reuse recycled water for irrigation and other purposes, reducing demand on drinking water supplies.
COWI has also been involved in other water infrastructure projects in California, including Anderson Dam Phase 1, Lafayette and Briones Reservoirs, Chabot Dam, Folsom Dam, San Vicente Dam, Lake Mathews, Nacimiento Lake, Lake Calavera, and the Gene Wash and Copper Basin dams.
