When a contaminated groundwater plume threatened the clean drinking water of Hopewell Junction, NY, the EPA (Region 2) recognized the risk imposed on citizens and their livelihood. In partnership with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Kansas City District, Conti Federal led remediation efforts to provide over 300 residences and businesses access to clean water, which included disconnecting and decommissioning existing wells at each property as well as connecting new water sources for each.
Conti Federal was awarded the USACE contract to construct a state-of-the-art 200 gallon-per-minute pump station, 310,000-gallon prestressed concrete water storage tank, which was then connected to 322 residential homes and businesses. Conti Federal overcame significant obstacles, from the coordination and cooperation of residents to COVID-19 related suspensions mandated by the EPA and local government, which extended over 4 months.
In under four years, Conti Federal was able to:
The magnitude of the scope of work was incredibly unique for the project. With over 300 individual properties that needed inspections, Conti Federal communicated and coordinated with each property owner to determine the entry point of the new water service line and the connection to the existing plumbing system.
Aligning schedules with property owners was a key challenge. Conti Federal mitigated this impact by assigning dedicated staff to coordinate the surveying of homes to determine the most effective path for new water connections, as well as communicating schedules to property owners. In addition to installation of clean water access, 55 POETS were required to be removed from properties, with all contaminated water containerized and removed for proper disposal.
To mitigate the disruption caused by the presence of Conti Federal, the implementation of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) was utilized to install water services and piping connections from the street to home. This allowed for clean installation of home connections at the curb stop without any disruption or damage to individual or commercial landscaping, where intrusive trenching would otherwise be necessary.
The project almost came to a halt when the Governor of New York issued an executive order ceasing all construction inside of homes and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than stop work altogether, Conti Federal utilized its proprietary Warrior Lean® construction management system to find ways to avoid delays. An agile pivot in scheduling allowed the team to conduct outdoor paving and conclude restoration operations during this suspension. Simultaneously, Conti Federal’s Health and Safety Team developed a detailed COVID-19 Protocol Plan addressing all the safeguards that would be put in place once the suspension was lifted. Communication with the property owners was vital to make the public feel safe about workers entering their homes.
Well-abandonment was the final and most critical phase of the overall project. It involved the decommissioning of contaminated residential wells to avoid future use. Initially behind schedule, Conti Federal again tapped into our Warrior Lean® methodology to assess where productivity could be increased. Through coordination and communication with our trade partners, the team was able to find opportunities to increase the rate of well closures per day by almost eight times and get the project back on schedule for successful completion.
