Three firms to develop desalination pipeline network for US water project

California American Water has selected three firms Garney Pacific, Mountain Cascade and Monterey Peninsula Engineering for construction of desalination pipeline network as part of the $320m Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project.

The firms will be developing 22 miles of pipeline, pump stations and storage facilities under the project to serve 100,000 residential and commercial customers of the state-based water and wastewater utility on the Monterey Peninsula.

Request for proposals (RFP) for the project was issued in August this year.

These three companies have been chosen out of six respondents on the basis of their technical and business propositions and cost estimates.

California American Water engineering manager Ian Crooks said: "Awarding the pipeline work to three firms provides advantages in terms of both schedule and cost.

"With these firms on board in addition to the contracts we’ve already executed with CDM Constructors for the desalination facility and Boart Longyear for the source wells, we have a great team in place to construct the project."

The project is expected to reduce the local community’s dependency on the Carmel River as its primary water source.

It will involve construction of either a 9.6 million gallon per day (MGD) desalination plant or a 6.4MGD desalination plant with 3.2MGD advanced treated recycled water from groundwater replenishment project Pure Water Monterey.

Construction works for the desalination project is expected to be completed in 2019.

California American Water had selected Boart Longyear to construct the desalination slant wells for the project last month.