City of Fargo Fargo, North Dakota, United States
Increasing water capacity for the City of Fargo by 50%

Increased capacity, cleaner water
Alberici constructed a major advanced water treatment plant (AWT) for the City of Fargo, ND. The $104 million project added membrane treatment technology and increased overall capacity from 30 MGD to 45 MGD. The upgrades enable the plant to remove sulfate and bromide from treated water.

Smart solutions to budget challenges
After all initial lump sum bids exceeded the City’s budget, Alberici provided value engineering suggestions that reduced the overall cost of the project by $13 million. Among Alberici’s solutions was a significant redesign of the deep foundation system, which provided more than $4 million in savings.

Significant plant expansion
Under the multi-prime delivery method selected by the Owner, Alberici served as general contractor while coordinating with the Owner’s prime mechanical and electrical contractors. Alberici’s scope of work included mass site excavation and earth retention, auger cast pile deep foundations, poured-in-place concrete substructure, concrete masonry unit (CMU) superstructure, site piping, site paving, and process pipe and equipment installation.

Raising purification standards at the existing plant
The project included installation of sedimentation basins, plate settlers, submerged membranes, reverse osmosis (RO), and granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment processes, as well as modifications to the existing plant’s ozone generator system and numerous chemical feed and storage systems. The upgrades help purify drinking water to the highest standards by removing a variety of impurities, including sulfate and bromide concentrations from the nearby Red and Sheyenne Rivers.

Minimizing disruption
The plant is located in a heavily populated residential neighborhood and remained in full operation throughout the entire duration of the project. Alberici carefully sequenced work to avoid interrupting existing treatment processes and to minimize impacts to the surrounding neighbors.