Rendering of the BDFP project by Brown & Caldwell


Project at a Glance: Biosolids Digester Facilities Project


Owner: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission


CM/GC: MWH Constructors and Webcor Builders, a joint venture


Design Firms: Collaboration of Brown & Caldwell, Jacobs, and Black & Veatch


Total Cost: $2.7 billion Slated Completion: 2027


Contract Awards (as of 8/23): Over 200 contracts to general contractors and sub- contractors, including over 90 to LBEs


facility, a neighborhood asset, and an attractive workplace. Te new facility will incorporate cut- ting-edge technology to benefit residents in nearby neighborhoods and those in its service region in a variety of ways. For starters, it will produce higher-quality bio- solids and capture and treat odors more effectively. Its state-of-the-art digesters will be located about 10 times farther away from existing residences than they currently are (1000 feet from the nearest residence versus the current 100 feet). Te project also will include several visual improvements in and around the SEP. Te existing plant, which treats be- tween 85 million and 215 million gallons of wastewater each day, was overdue for an upgrade when planning and design for the new facility got underway. Te


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CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023


project broke ground in July 2019 and is now approximately 50% complete with completion slated for 2027, followed by commissioning. Lance Ota, senior project manager for


the BDFP team, has been involved since MHW/Webcor initially submitted their proposal for the project approximately six years ago. “Te team recognized this was an opportunity to help the neighbor- hood and make this a nicer facility for the people who live and work adjacent to it,” he commented.


Putting Dollars Back into Local Community While the project was only required by the owner to meet a minimum thresh- old of approximately 12% LBE and DBE goals, “the fact that we are pushing those


numbers into the 30% range is because this team saw the importance of it and pushed to make sure that we not only met but far exceeded that requirement,” he added.


“Tis neighborhood is a marginalized


community, but the people who live and work here deserve the same respect as everybody else. We realized we could put dollars into the local community by emphasizing local hiring from the surrounding area.” Te project team has employed several


strategies to address the local workforce goal in a way that most benefits residents and businesses in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, according to Ota. Tese strategies included: • Hyperlocal hiring – While the initial project plan called for hiring within


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