Meeting the challenge of a difficult job.
The Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility Upgrade for the Town of Bennington, Vermont was not your typical wastewater treatment plant upgrade. This very complex and involved job included the work of replacing old systems with new, adding a new screening building and screen, upgrading the control systems and refurbishing the iron covers on all three digesters that hadn’t been touched since the ‘80’s. The plant’s 5+ million gallon per day flows needed to remain in operation throughout the duration of construction making the installation of the new inlet piping and Screening Building construction extremely difficult. Kingsbury Companies’ team coordinated months in advance for this operation and were required to develop an elaborate sequencing plan that addressed deep excavations, high wastewater flows and existing underground utility locations. Kingsbury’s team worked in 24-hour shifts for a week straight to get the new piping and influent manhole installed, while 3 massive diesel-powered pumps bypassed the mainline sewer. The crew battled a storm event that flooded their work area and navigated around differing site conditions leading the alternative core drilling into the existing infrastructure entrance at difficult angles.

Excellence in project management.
Over the course of the project the construction team encountered unforeseen conditions, various owner generated design changes, and scheduling hurdles that needed to be resolved quickly. The team worked closely with the Owner/Engineer to create solutions so that work could continue moving forward with least impact to the project schedule and budget. Amongst removal of the spiderweb of piping in the Primary Digester gallery, the owner completely re-designed the system and the management team had to work quickly to get revised materials on-site so that the digesters could be put back online before the negative impacts of weather took hold.

Projects contribution to the community.
Constructed in 1962, the Bennington WWTP ran for a continuous 22 years before going through its first major overhaul in 1984. The plant processes 5.1 million gallons of wastewater per day from three surrounding towns, making this plant a vital part of the local community and one of the largest wastewater plants in the State. The anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge is one the most environmentally friendly processes available in today’s technology and this project propelled the plant into the 21st century.

Sensitivity to the environmental surroundings.
To protect the neighboring residents and businesses, Kingsbury’s Safety, Risk and Health Manager worked closely with the Town Safety Officer and our subcontractor to ensure that during the course of sandblasting and painting the three digester covers, all materials would be contained, therefore maintaining a high air quality. This proved to be a difficult task as two of the digester covers were 35’ in diameter, sat 4’ off the ground and had a total height of 8’. The real challenge came when the Secondary Digester cover was removed, being 45’ in diameter and the top a towering 23’ off the ground, no easy task was undertaken. Our team worked together to construct containments around all the covers while battling wind, snow and typical deep winter Vermont weather.

Outstanding safety record.
For the project duration, the team consistently met requirements for supervision, communication, and reporting. Job Hazard Analysis was performed for each portion of the work with customized training for the installation team. Safety audits were performed, and emergency procedures reviewed daily. Particular attention to safety protocols was employed during the multi-crew, 24-hour construction period to guard against accidents caused by fatigue. Over the span of the 16-month project, there were zero accidents or injuries.