Wellington is proud to announce the successful completion of major expansion projects at the town’s Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and Water Reclamation Facility
(WRF). The projects, which were necessary for the town to meet capacity needs and regulatory requirements, got underway in spring 2022. The newly expanded facilities double Wellington’s capacity to provide water and sewer utility services to its ever-growing population while also accommodating commercial growth.
“This is new territory for Wellington,” Mayor Calar Chaussee says. “These expansion projects will allow us to grow responsibly as a town while ensuring we can provide quality, consistent water and sewer utility services to our residents and businesses.”
The final cost of the WTP expansion came in at $39,055,590. The final cost of the WRF expansion was $53,109,734. Both projects were funded by a combination of loans from Colorado’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) and funds from the Town’s Water Enterprise Fund and reserve funds. The SRF finances the design and construction of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure across the state via low-interest loans.
Both projects were finished on schedule and under budget, and both facilities were designed to allow for further expansion in the future if needed. Notice to Proceed for the WTP was given in May of 2022, and Substantial Completion was achieved on July 1, 2024. Final Completion was Oct. 17, 2024.
Notice to proceed for the WRF was given in April 2022 and Substantial Completion was achieved October 1, 2024. Final Completion is estimated for June 13, 2025, as work is performed on the pre-existing portion of the plant. The expansion work is done and currently operational.
Hensel Phelps was the general contractor for the WTP project, while Moltz Construction was the general contractor for the WRF project. Jacobs Engineering served as design engineer for both expansions.
“These projects required a great deal of staff time and management,” says Nathan Ewert, the town’s deputy director of public works for engineering. “We want to thank everyone who had a hand in successfully completing them. We had two very well-qualified general contractors and many great subcontractors involved. Wellington’s Public Works Department also received strong support from the rest of the town staff, particularly the operations staff at both plants along with the town’s planning and building, finance and administration departments. Without all this support, we wouldn’t have been able to complete these expansions on time and under budget.”
Other numbers from the WTP and WRF expansion projects:
Water Treatment Plant
- Old capacity < new capacity: 2 million gallons per day < 4.2 MGD
- Total man-hours: 157,945
- Buried pipe installed: 6,500 linear ft.
- Interior pipe installed: 2,500 linear ft.
- Rebar installed: 680,000 lbs.
- Concrete placed: 4,000 cubic yards
- Subcontractors used: 35
- Vendors used: 20
Water Reclamation Facility
- Old capacity < new capacity: 0.9 MGD < 1.8 MGD
- Total man-hours: 185,370
- Buried pipe installed: 11,100 linear ft.
- Interior pipe installed: 4,220 linear ft.
- Rebar installed: 1,316,640 lbs.
- Concrete placed: 7,700 cubic yards
- Subcontractors used: 25
- Vendors used: 36
A ribbon-cutting for town officials to commemorate the completion of both projects is scheduled for March. More information about the Town of Wellington’s water and sewer
services is available at wellingtoncolorado.gov/155/water-sewer.