(Lawrenceville, Ga., Jan. 20, 2010) - The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a contract on Tuesday for $21.4 million in upgrades and improvements to the Crooked Creek Water Reclamation Facility.

Pizzagalli Construction Co., Inc. was the lowest of seven bidders at 70 percent of the estimated cost of the work to be done at the plant off Holcomb Bridge Road near Norcross. Pizzagalli has also worked on Gwinnett's two other main treatment plants, the 60-million gallon-per-day (mgd) Hill Plant and the 22 mgd Yellow River Plant that is currently being rebuilt.?

Federal stimulus funds will pay a portion of the interest cost on recovery zone economic development bonds for the project, according to Acting Water Resources Director Lynn Smarr.

"This project is another major piece of our ongoing program of upgrades to our water and sewer systems designed to comply with tighter environmental regulations and serve the county for the next 50 years," said Chairman Charles Bannister. "We're grateful for the federal funds that are helping offset some of the cost of these infrastructure improvements as we prepare to meet the needs of the future."

The work includes construction of new headworks, a new influent pump station with electrical building, and upgrades to existing odor-control facilities along with new piping, a new flow meter, and a backflow prevention system. Future projects will add new solids handling and disinfection facilities to the plant. When finished, the Crooked Creek plant will treat 25 mgd and will be easily expandable.

Smarr said, "We're eager to get this long-planned work underway because Crooked Creek discharges its reclaimed water to the Chattahoochee River." The Hill Plant will soon begin returning reclaimed water to Lake Lanier, which also drains into the river.