SILOAM SPRINGS, AR — The City of Siloam Springs and design-build partner Burns & McDonnell celebrated the completion of a $30-million upgrade to the City’s Water Treatment Plant with a ribbon-cutting. In the nearly three decades since Siloam Springs’ water treatment facility underwent its last major upgrade, the city’s population has more than doubled. To meet this growing demand and address the never-ending need for infrastructure reinvestment, the Siloam Springs Board of Directors set out to rehabilitate their water treatment facility with the goal of meeting projected water demands through the year 2040.

The ribbon-cutting commemorates the completion of this successful project. “We are pleased with the outcome of this major upgrade to our water treatment plant, which will ensure the water demands of our residents will be met for years to come,” said Judy Nation, Mayor of Siloam Springs. “This project fits into our blueprint for future growth and allows us to continue to provide excellent customer service to all our residential and business customers.”

The city’s choice to utilize a single design-builder to deliver the project allowed quick evaluation of alternate designs, ultimately leading to a project that produced significant savings to customers. The project also marks the first time the State of Arkansas utilized an optimized design-build approach to deliver a project funded by the State Revolving Fund, positioning Siloam Springs as a leader in innovative capital project delivery.

No large capital project is without challenges. For Siloam Springs, challenges included beginning project construction on March 12, 2020, one day after the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Yet the project was completed with zero safety recordables or lost time incidents.

“The health of the population was uncertain, virtual meeting technology tools were in their infancy, supply chains were severely disrupted, and cost-escalation created uncertainty,” said Jake White of Burns & McDonnell and Client Advocate for the project. “However, the collective team of Siloam Springs and Burns & McDonnell pressed ahead. By making communication a priority and demonstrating an unwavering commitment to making this project a success, Siloam Springs’ new treatment facility was completed on time, under budget, and is set to serve the residents of this growing community for decades.”