Across the country, communities are investing in modern water infrastructure that can meet changing regulations, withstand seismic events and support long‑term population growth. A major regional initiative in the Pacific Northwest reflects this movement, leveraging alternative delivery through a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) approach to combine advanced treatment technology with seismically resilient pipelines — protecting a critical drinking water supply for generations to come.

At the heart of this program is a new state‑of‑the‑art filtration facility capable of treating 135 million gallons of water per day. Paired with new pipeline infrastructure to replace aging components, the project will remove sediment, organic material, microorganisms and other contaminants, including Cryptosporidium from the city’s drinking water supply.

Supporting Quality, Safety and Reliability Throughout Construction

As an essential partner on this CM/GC-delivered project, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ provides comprehensive inspection and quality oversight, spanning grading, concrete, coatings, pipeline installation, electrical systems and mechanical components. This work supports alignment with contractual requirements, regulatory expectations and the rigorous safety standards essential for a project of this scale.

Within the collaborative CM/GC delivery environment, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ strengthens coordinated decision‑making by offering clear documentation, real-time communication and multidisciplinary field support. Early contractor involvement enables proactive identification of constructability challenges, informed cost and schedule decisions and effective management — helping maintain compliance with state and federal water regulations while keeping construction moving efficiently.

Protecting Health, the Economy and the Future

This investment in upgraded treatment facilities and resilient conveyance infrastructure delivers benefits that extend far beyond regulatory compliance — protecting public health, supporting economic vitality and enhancing long-term system resilience in the face of seismic risk and future demand. Ěý

A Model for Modern Water Delivery

“This project demonstrates the value of alternative delivery, particularly the CM/GC model, in addressing complex water infrastructure challenges,” said Tom Price, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ Infrastructure President. “By working collaboratively with the owner, designer and contractor early in the process, our team helps manage risk, maintain consistent quality and adapt as field conditions evolve. Â鶹TVÍřվ’ integrated role supports informed decision-making and contributes to the long-term reliability of this essential water system.”

Learn more about Â鶹TVÍřվ’ alternative delivery solutions and connect with us at the annual , being held April 13-15, in Grapevine, Texas. Visit us in Booth #638.

Project earns an ACEC Georgia Engineering Excellence Award.

Babak (Bobby) Shayan, David McKenney, Alexandra Davis, Andrew Pankopp and Andy Casey accept award on behalf project team.Ěý

Spelman College has long been recognized for its academic excellence and leadership in liberal arts and sciences. As the college envisioned its first major new academic building in more than 25 years, campus leaders saw an opportunity to create something extraordinary — a space where the arts and sciences could finally converge and inspire one another.

The result is the 82,500‑square‑foot , a landmark building positioned at one of the campus’s most prominent corners. Designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, the Center includes performance spaces, classrooms, dance studios, a museum, a café and the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab — an advanced maker space inviting students from across disciplines to experiment and create.

The project recently earned statewide recognition, receiving an , in the Special Projects category. This award highlights the successful collaboration and technical excellence that brought this transformational building to life.

Engineering a Shared Vision

Â鶹TVÍřŐľ is proud to have played a significant role in delivering the site design solutions that made this bold vision possible. Our team provided comprehensive services, including site planning, grading and drainage, stormwater management, utility design, erosion control, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) documentation, permitting and construction support.

Designing within a dense, historic and active campus environment required meticulous planning and coordination. The project site, formerly a faculty parking lot, contained a complex web of existing utilities critical to campus operations. Â鶹TVÍřŐľ conducted extensive investigation and subsurface utility exploration to minimize relocations, protect essential systems and see that construction could move forward without disrupting campus life.

This careful groundwork proved invaluable, especially when designing the foundations for the pedestrian bridge that connects the new Center to the campus core. Bridge footings were needed in an area crowded with existing and proposed utilities. Â鶹TVÍřŐľ worked closely with the structural engineering team, using designating and targeted test pits to verify the exact location and elevation of utilities.

Sustainable Solutions Below the Surface

While much of the Center’s beauty is visible in its open, sun‑lit architecture and inviting outdoor “porch” spaces, some of its most impactful engineering features lie underground.

Located within — an area historically affected by pollution and flooding — the site required thoughtful water management strategies. Â鶹TVÍřŐľ designed a 63,200‑gallon underground cistern, constructed from 84‑inch‑diameter pipe, to capture runoff from both landscaped areas and building rooftops. Pretreatment through vegetated swales and a high‑capacity First Defense system improves water quality, reduces downstream flooding and gives Spelman a sustainable irrigation source that reduces reliance on the city’s potable water supply.

During utility evaluations, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ also identified opportunities to enhance segments of the existing sanitary sewer system serving a large portion of campus. The team designed a new watertight sewer main, improving system performance and safeguarding both campus operations and nearby natural environments.

The Center for Innovation and the Arts has already catalyzed new activity and programming on campus, creating a vibrant hub for creativity and discovery. For Â鶹TVÍřŐľ, the project represents the impact of thoughtful civil engineering — solutions that operate quietly beneath the surface yet play a pivotal role in a building’s performance, sustainability and long‑term campus value.

“Earning the 2026 ACEC Georgia Merit Award underscores the significance of this achievement. The Center stands as a testament to what can be accomplished when visionary design meets technical precision: a building that not only serves Spelman College today but strengthens its legacy for generations to come,” said Tom Price, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ Infrastructure President.

Additional Award-Winning Contributions

Alongside the Merit Award for the Spelman Center for Innovation and the Arts, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ was also recognized for its contributions to the Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility Expansion and the Brookhaven City Center, which earned a State Award and an Honor Award, respectively.

Brian McGowan understands that leadership is more than just a title. A true leader must be able to think outside the box and be willing to take risks, especially as markets shift and technologies evolve. With more than 25 years of leadership experience across the construction, transportation, environmental, engineering and infrastructure sectors, he has built a career focused on strategic growth, market expansion and organizational advancement.

Brian was recently promoted to a new role at Â鶹TVÍřŐľ as Director of Strategic Growth & Advanced Facilities. In this role, Brian is helping support Â鶹TVÍřվ’ enterprise-wide growth strategy by focusing on revenue acceleration, market expansion, strategic pursuits and the development of high-impact opportunities. We caught up with Brian to discuss how emerging technologies are helping reduce water dependency in the data center market and what trends he’s seeing across the industry.

In honor of , celebrated each year on March 22, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ recognizes the essential role water plays in our communities, industries and environment. As data center growth accelerates across the U.S., Brian answered a few questions regarding the topic of water availability becoming a critical factor in responsible development, as it relates to data centers and advanced facilities.

Q: Is water availability becoming a critical factor in responsible and sustainable data center development? Are our clients worried about water availability?

Yes, water availability is becoming a real constraint in many U.S. markets, especially as Artificial Intelligence or AI-driven hyperscale growth accelerates. Multiple independent analyses show U.S. data centers consume billions of gallons of water annually both directly for cooling and indirectly through power generation.

In water‑stressed regions, like Texas, Arizona, and parts of California, water availability now directly influences site selection, cooling strategies and permitting timelines. In water‑abundant regions, such as the Midwest and Great Lakes, it’s less about absolute supply and more about community perception and expectations.

Clients are typically addressing it in three ways: designing water out of the cooling equation (zero‑water or near‑zero‑water cooling); using reclaimed or non‑potable water where evaporative systems remain and engaging municipalities early to address cumulative impacts and avoid late‑stage permitting resistance.

PQ: What trends are you seeing in reducing water usage at new or existing data center sites?

A few consistent trends show up across both new builds and retrofits. There’s been a clear shift away from evaporative cooling. Traditional evaporative cooling can consume hundreds of thousands of gallons per day per hyperscale facility, so operators are increasingly avoiding these systems in favor of mechanical or liquid cooling solutions that drastically reduce or eliminate water use.

Secondly, Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) is becoming a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), alongside Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). For many owners, WUE is now tracked alongside PUE, and leading operators report measurable improvements in WUE over time, driven by design standardization and tighter operational controls.Ěý

Additionally, we’ve seen a preference for “future-proofed” designs that can operate without potable water if requirements tighten. Even in regions with ample water today, developers are designing facilities that can operate without potable water if regulations or community expectations tighten over time.

Finally, we’re also seeing more retrofitting of existing facilities to reduce ongoing water draw, most often through hybrid retrofits like dry coolers plus limited liquid cooling, improved controls and leak detection, as well as seasonal switching between cooling modes to minimize water draw during peak demand.

Q: What technologies are being implemented to reduce water usage?

Several technologies are moving from pilot to mainstream deployment:

• Closed-loop liquid cooling (chip-level) — uses a sealed system that recirculates coolant without evaporation. Once filled during construction, it typically requires little to no ongoing water input.Ěý
• Air-cooled and dry-cooler systems — can consume zero water, typically with higher energy tradeoffs. They are becoming increasingly viable when paired with advanced controls and when regional climate conditions are favorable.
• Immersion cooling — servers are submerged in engineered fluids, which can be extremely efficient for high‑density AI racks. It’s still an emerging technology, but it is gaining traction where water and space constraints are severe.Ěý
• Smart water-management platforms — enable real‑time monitoring of WUE, leaks and cooling performance and support continuous optimization rather than static design assumptions.

Q: From a development and permitting standpoint, how is water stewardship becoming critical?

Water stewardship has become central to entitlement risk management. Municipalities and utilities increasingly require disclosure of projected water use and contingency plans. In some jurisdictions, approvals are being conditioned on measures such as use of reclaimed water, zero‑water cooling commitments and long‑term monitoring and reporting.

Community scrutiny has also intensified. High‑profile cases where data centers consumed a material share of local water supply have made transparency non‑negotiable in many markets. This has led to some hyperscalers to issue a community data center pledge reinforcing their commitment to protecting watersheds and water supply.

From a practical standpoint, projects that address water early move faster, while projects that treat water reactively face delays, opposition or redesign.

Q: Looking ahead, what’s one emerging technology that will define water-efficient data center development in the next five years — and what will be transformative over the next decade?

Over the next five years, I’d point to closed-loop, chip-level liquid cooling. This technology is the near‑term inflection point because it eliminates evaporative water use, scales effectively with AI rack densities and is already being standardized by hyperscalers.Ěý

The biggest transformation won’t be a single device; it will be systems thinking: water‑free cooling paired with low‑water power generation, AI‑driven optimization of cooling, energy and water simultaneously, as well as facilities designed to be net‑neutral or net‑positive in local water impact through reuse and watershed investment.

Q: What’s the bottom line you want stakeholders to remember?

Water has moved from a supporting utility to a strategic constraint and a differentiator in data center development. Owners who can demonstrate credible, technically sound water stewardship are earning faster approvals, stronger community trust and more resilient assets.

As we recognize World Water Day, it’s clear that water stewardship is no longer optional — it’s foundational to sustainable, future‑ready data‑center development. Brian’s insights highlight not only the challenges ahead but also the promising innovations shaping a more resilient and resource‑efficient digital infrastructure.

What does it take to make our roads safer, smoother and more sustainable?Ěý
In this episode, Baron Colbert, Ph.D., Senior Engineer at Â鶹TVÍřŐľ, shares the human and technical sides of innovation in pavement testing. From award-winning work like the Stop-and-Go Inertial Profiler to research that reduces costs and improves safety, Baron shows how collaboration, clear communication and a willingness to challenge the status quo can drive lasting change.Ěý

Resources Mentioned:

• Â鶹TVÍřŐľ Earns State and National Awards for Roadway Safety InnovationĚý
• Caltrans Stop-and-Go Inertial Profiler Evaluation and Certification SupportĚý
• Â鶹TVÍřŐľ CareersĚý

Copyright Notice ©2025 Â鶹TVÍřŐľ and affiliates. All rights reserved. Copyright in the whole and every part of this presentation belongs to Â鶹TVÍřŐľ Technical Consultants LLC and its affiliates and may not be used, sold, distributed, transferred, copied, or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form or in or on any media without the prior written consent of Â鶹TVÍřŐľ Technical Consultants LLC.

Plugging orphan and MCWs is one aspect of the overall closure process of well locations. Effective remediation requires comprehensive site evaluation, a detailed closure plan and post-restoration monitoring to ensure long-term stability.

The Risks of Leaving Wells Unplugged

When left unaddressed, orphan wells and certain MCWs can create environmental, operation and safety risks:

• Surface Leaks & Groundwater Contamination – Without a reliable seal, gas and fluids can migrate into groundwater-producing zones and affect drinking water. Fluids and gas can migrate to the surface and affect the soil and ground surface.
• Structural Failure & Site Instability – Many old wells have deteriorated, with casing integrity issues, in addition to inadequate plugging materials or the absence of plugging materials. As materials degrade, casing failures can lead to unintended interactions with other producing formations including those containing groundwater and those containing oil and gas.
• Impact on Future Production and Development – Unmapped and improperly plugged wells can interfere with new and existing energy production. Before drilling, companies must often locate and address orphan wells to avoid costly delays, regulatory challenges and operational disruptions. These wells also interfere with potential land development projects.

Well Program Sustainability

Without a broader strategy that includes sustained federal and state funding support, wells will not get the attention they need soon enough. The oil and gas well grant programs of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act/Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (IIJA/BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have provided additional funding to states that are typically underfunded for this work. With this additional funding, state oil and gas programs have been uplifted, hundreds of well sites have been closed and private sector jobs have been expanded to meet the demand. However, the lasting success of these programs depends on sustained existing funding and expanded funding, in addition to workforce investment and policies that support these programs.

A well closure program is only as effective as its long-term strategy. With continued commitment from policymakers and industry leaders, orphan well and MCW programs can turn liabilities into assets — protecting our natural resources and supporting future development opportunities.

Learn more about Â鶹TVÍřŐľ’ orphan, idle, abandoned and marginal well program management.

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