RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center

Originally constructed in 1935, the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center “RM Clayton” provides wastewater treatment for the northwest area of the City of Atlanta. RM Clayton has become one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in the Southeast US, with an average daily flow of 122 million gallons per day (MGD) and the ability to treat peak flow up to 240 MGD.

As regulations from the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (EPD) became stricter on plant emissions, and as local landfills began limiting the amount of sludge they would accept from water reclamation centers, RM Clayton was forced to balance use of the incinerator to burn biosolids or pay exorbitant hauling fees. The Department of Watershed Management (DWM) was faced with risking violations to its approved permits and skyrocketing cost of disposing of sludge.

With guidance and support from 2KB during the Investment Grade Energy Audit (IGEA), the City of Atlanta made the decision to partner with the Energy Service Company (ESCO), Noresco, to develop and construct a biosolids beneficial reuse building that will convert the sludge to EPA-rated Class A EQ biosolids which can be land applied as agricultural soil or fertilizer. The City of Atlanta also determined their UV disinfection system at RM Clayton to be largely energy inefficient, which was then included in the Noresco scope of work to replace.

2KB and its team of partners supported the City during both the design and implementation phases by managing the exchange of information between the client and contractor. Familiar with the City’s internal

processes, 2KB managed to drive the universal adoption of eBuilder for the project to maintain the historical record. 2KB supported the initial will-it-work analysis and helped guide the project through the various approvals by coordinating educational workshops and training sessions, as well as ensuring the policy, engineering and operational teams are included in reviews and discussions.

Challenges/Solutions

The introduction of a wholly new process represented a significant risk to the City. Recognizing that representatives from operations, engineering, maintenance, and other technical advisors needed to be engaged early in the development process, 2KB took on the role of coordinating communications and driving correspondence between multiple teams. This process involved reviewing thousands of pages of documentation with/from subject matter experts (SME) to successfully turnaround 350 comments and responses during the design phase. The result of this process was an approach to construction and implementation that minimized the risk to the City, while maximizing the projected value of the systems to be installed.

RM Clayton remains a very active plant, with multiple projects underway simultaneously. The City’s Office of Engineering Services (OES), Construction Management Division (CMD), and Office of Water Treatment and Reclamation (OWTR) challenged by time and resource constraints as they manage the Department’s $1.26billion Capital Improvement Program (CIP). These departments all relied on the 2KB team to assist in the coordination of cross-project communication and documentation during the development, implementation, and closeout phases. This effort from 2KB included our onsite field personnel and construction managers providing prompt reviews of Primavera P6 turnaround documents, EBO reports, AIA forms, and supplemental information to verify submitted payment applications on this $77million project.

Project Benefits

• This project, which was completed in June 2021, is expected to save almost $4M per year or $80M over the useful life of the equipment.

• RM Clayton WRC will be able to decommission the incinerators to reduce plant emissions by over 10,000 tons of annual equivalent CO2

• The projected 65% reduction in landfill trucking traffic will reduce emissions by almost 200 tons of CO2 equivalent each year.

• 20,000 tons of marketable Class A biosolids will be produced each year, returning 14 million gallons of water to the Chattahoochee River.

• 2KB managed the complete document storage system and has been recognized as a super user of eBuilder.