Weifield’s Water Solutions division is proud to be working with Kimley-Horn, PCL Construction’s Civil Engineering group, Red Rocks Community College, & Wigwam Mutual Water Company in El Paso County –toward a solution for eliminating PFAS out of the water supply! PFAS (or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are manmade chemicals that can be found in everything we use — from apparel, to makeup, to the water supply, and more — and a collaborative experiment is happening at Red Rocks Community College where scientists might be on the path to eliminating harmful pollutants once and for all.
It started with a conversation between Scott Powell at Red Rocks Community College and Keith DeVore of Wigwam Mutual Water Company in El Paso County – where they wondered, why can we not take PFAS out of the water?
From there, Eric Dole from Kimber Horn along with PCL Construction and a host of others began to collaborate with them as well and soon, $300,000 in grant money was given toward the building of a new PFAS trailer that would help remove these chemicals from the water supply.
As part of this project, Weifield’s Chris Wedow, Mike Butler, Tim Granahan, Devin VanHorne, and Scott Dick have executed the electrical work as part of this collaboration including demolitioning the existing trailer electrical, installing new programmable logic controllers (provided by ICS), installing new electrical equipment and raceways, installing new service feeders at Red Rocks Community College and at Wigwam Water and Sanitation district, and performing final wiring and terminations to new motors, valves, process equipment, and water quality analyzers.
Red Rocks Community College students are working as part of this experiment and when completed, the solution could potentially change water treatment forever. As that research continues, the group is testing the system along with other treatment options – the results will be sent to CO Dept of Public Health & Environment and the EPA for approval and potential implementation in communities like those in El Paso County.
Says Scott Dick, Weifield Water Solutions & Infrastructure Division Project Executive: “We will be showcasing this solution at Red Rocks Community College for the American Water Works Association Ace Conference and it will soon be showcased at the national Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) as well. The entire team as done an amazing job coordinating with our project partners for implementation; it’s been amazing to see Weifield’s PACT in action and I’m super proud of entire team giving back to the communities we live and serve in!”
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/video/colorado-projects-look-to-remove-pfas-from-drinking-water/
