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ACEC Honor Award 2003

Water Treatment Plant No. 8
Hudson, Wisconsin

The City of Hudson's challenge was to put a water treatment plant with two new supply wells and a much-needed community park on the same 20-acre parcel. The solution was a multi-stage diffused bubble aeration system - the first of its kind in Wisconsin to be successfully implemented in a municipal water treatment plant - that significantly reduces radon concentrations in the ground water yet allows the treatment plant to be a "good neighbor" to its scenic surroundings.

Treatment technologies for removing radon from groundwater are currently limited to aeration and liquid phase granular-activated carbon. To fit with the character of its natural surroundings, the chosen treatment process could not be visible from within the park. A multi-stage diffused bubble aeration system was the answer. The treatment system is only one-story high and can be replicated at other existing, single-story water treatment plants located in residential areas. Previous diffused bubble aeration systems were limited in hydraulic capacity and required multiple units and significant building space to treat the high capacities Hudson required. The larger units used in the Hudson design saved building space and money for the PUC, is almost equivalent in cost to other treatment technologies such as air stripping towers, and will save in long-term maintenance costs.

The ledge rock stone masonry walls of the 8,150 sq. ft. water treatment plant emphasize the limestone of the adjacent bluffs and establishes the architectural style for the park. Glu-laminated beams enhance the building's interior and exterior and the translucent panels in the clearstory provide natural light by day and are illuminated by night.

Designing the water treatment plant building and associated structures with agrarian and prairie-style influences establishes a unique theme for the proposed community park and future park buildings.