News

Gresham Smith Selected as Owner’s Engineer by the Middle Chattahoochee Regional Water & Sewer Authority

Firm Will Offer Technical Expertise to Support New Water Infrastructure for Georgia’s South Fulton County

Gresham Smith is proud to announce that the firm has been selected by the Middle Chattahoochee Regional Water & Sewer Authority (MCRWSA), along with local subconsultants, to navigate the next steps forward in implementing a new Chattahoochee River withdrawal, drinking water treatment plant and conveyance pipelines serving the cities of Union City, Palmetto and Fairburn.

Gresham Smith’s multi-disciplinary team will serve as the Owner’s Engineer, providing technical leadership support for the MCRWSA as the project is implemented. The firm will help define and refine the project scope to identify cost saving approaches and guide the selection of the engineer-of-record and contractor, while also overseeing construction, start-up, and management and operations.

“As the southern part of Fulton County continues to experience rapid population growth, the Middle Chattahoochee Regional Water & Sewer Authority will need leadership that can provide maximum value,” said Water + Environment Vice President Rebecca Lindsay, P.E., ENV SP. “As the Owner’s Engineer, our firm will help guide infrastructure solutions that help the suburbs of Atlanta maintain their reputation as healthy and thriving communities. We are honored to have the opportunity to lead on this very important project.”

Gresham Smith will first produce detailed cost opinion projections for the MCRWSA’s capital investments, and will next perform supplemental water quality analyses, through “jar testing,” to provide the engineer-of-record with additional design data. To support the MCRWSA’s desire to maintain open, honest and timely communications with all project stakeholders, the firm will also develop a community outreach page on the MCRWSA’s website, which will be updated with information on project progress regularly.

“As Chairman of the Water Authority, I look forward to a great relationship with Gresham Smith engineering,” said City of Palmetto Mayor Clark Boddie. “The high quality of their work on past projects in our region, speaks for the excellence they deliver.”

This project will meet the growing potable water demands of the MCRWSA member cities of Union City, Palmetto and Fairburn for an initial 15 to 20-year horizon, with a well-planned approach under Gresham Smith’s leadership focused on the return-on-investment to the current and future ratepayers of the three cities.