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Board approves $28.4 million GMP for deep injection and monitoring wells for new plant
Summary
The utility board authorized a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of $28,425,041 to the Haskell/CDM Smith joint venture to construct one deep concentrate injection well and one dual-zone monitoring well required for disposal of reverse-osmosis concentrate from the new membrane treatment plant.
The City of Riviera Beach Utility Special District approved Resolution 21-25UD authorizing a work order not to exceed a guaranteed maximum price of $28,425,041 to the Haskell/CDM Smith joint venture for construction of one deep concentrate injection well and one dual-zone monitoring well.
The wells are necessary to dispose of the high-salinity concentrate produced by the plant's reverse-osmosis membranes, officials said. Suzanne Meckler, a professional engineer with CDM Smith, told the board that disposal via deep injection is standard practice for membrane plants dealing with salty concentrate and that the city's permit with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) requires the injection to occur below the underground source of drinking water. "The concentrate is the leftover after the clean water goes through," Meckler said, explaining that roughly 15% of inflow becomes concentrate and must be handled safely.
Meckler and the joint-venture team described safeguards included in the design: the injection well will extend well below potable aquifers (the presentation cited depths on the order of several thousand feet), and a dual-zone monitoring well will provide separate monitoring zones above and below the drinking-water zone to detect any upward migration. The monitoring results and periodic mechanical integrity tests must be reported to FDEP as part of ongoing permit compliance.
Construction logistics and backup disposal: Staff said drilling operations will require round-the-clock work during the drilling phase and that the board expects significant site impacts during mobilization. The project team also noted that the city has been discussing an emergency backup agreement with the East Central Regional wastewater facility to accept concentrate in a contingency scenario; using wastewater treatment as a permanent disposal route is unlikely because the concentrate's salinity can damage wastewater processes.
Outcome: The board voted unanimously to authorize the GMP and associated work order. The resolution directs the utility finance director to make payments from Project 23039 for the agreed amount.
Ending: Staff said mobilization could begin quickly after the GMP is approved and emphasized that early drilling will free construction space on the plant site, reducing conflicts between well-drilling and plant construction activities.
