02.05.10

Malcolm Pirnie and its long-standing client, the City of Columbus, OH were recently recognized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) as an example of an outstanding partnership.

The Columbus, Ohio municipal wastewater utility serves a total regional population of just over 900,000. As with many older urban areas, Columbus historically experienced wet weather overflows in the sewer system, which led Mayor Michael B. Coleman and his Public Utilities Department to develop a comprehensive wet weather management program, Project Clean Rivers. The plan included an aggressive schedule of improvements to its wastewater treatment plants as a critical step to reduce overflows and comply with State and Federal environmental regulations.

The economic benefit of Project Clean Rivers is almost $500M to date in engineering and construction services. Managed by Malcolm Pirnie as the Professional Program Management program, it has achieved the highest level of minority and women business participation to date of any Columbus wastewater  infrastructure project.   “Strengthening the capacity of Columbus’ minority and female-owned businesses is contributing to the boost that the local economy receives from the Project-- $2 is returned to the community for every $1 spent on construction,”  cited Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, President of the US Conference of Mayors during the Award Ceremony at the US Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting.

According to Bill Dee, President and CEO of Malcolm Pirnie, the successful collaboration between Malcolm Pirnie and Columbus will not only improve water quality, the environment and public health, it will have an even greater impact on the quality of life for City residents. “What started out as a project to address environmental challenges and improve water quality has and will continue to have a much greater impact. This initiative is establishing Columbus as a leading community in which to live, work, and raise a family.”