Water > Project Case Study

Sustainable Design of Water Treatment Plant Earns LEED Certification

The City of Rochester retained Wright-Pierce to design a 600-GPM groundwater treatment facility to meet LEED certification. By incorporating LEED standards, the facility design reduces life cycle costs, minimizes environmental impacts, and increases energy efficiency. Both the design and construction earned the facility LEED certification.

The facility houses the aeration process equipment, chemical storage and a control room. The architectural design of the building is a traditional "barn style" to integrate with the rural surroundings. The exterior materials consist of standing seam roofing, exterior masonry with insulation, and vertical metal siding. These materials were selected not only for their performance, but also for their contribution to the LEED goals of sustainability.

The building is heated and cooled using a geothermal HVAC system. The geothermal unit runs in a water-to-water heating configuration and provides hot water to unit heaters for the primary spaces in the treatment facility, as well as providing supplemental heat as needed during extremely cold conditions.

The features of the facility that meet the LEED certification include use of local materials, use of wood products that are certified as grown in sustainable forests, separation and recycling of waste materials, and the infiltration of stormwater into the ground.

In addition, a water main was installed under the Cocheco River using a technique called "directional drilling." The technique minimized impacts to the river and surrounding wetlands.

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