February 19, 2016 - The engineers' consortium that designed the $250 million upgrade to the New Rochelle Wastewater Treatment Plant will be awarded "Project of the Year" by the Westchester/Putnam Chapter of the New York State Society of Professional Engineers, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced. The consortium will receive the award at tonight's 44th Annual Engineer's Week Dinner Dance.

"This award from the Society of Professional Engineers recognizes the efforts and expertise that went into a successful, on-time and under-budget upgrade of the New Rochelle Wastewater Treatment Plant," Astorino said. "Despite the complexity of the project to meet new environmental standards and improve the water quality of the Long Island Sound, the engineers' consortium found a state-of-the-art solution that far exceeds environmental requirements."

The New Rochelle Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement Project is the largest public works project performed in the history of Westchester County, making improvements to every process to meet new permitting requirements. As a result of the project, a new two-stage biological aerated filtration system has reduced nitrogen discharge to the Long Island Sound by approximately 87 percent, from 2,000 pounds per day to approximately 250 pounds per day.

"The Project of the Year is the Upgrading of the New Rochelle Wastewater Treatment Plant designed by the engineers' consortium," said Diego Villareale, P.E., president of the Westchester/Putnam Chapter of the New York State Society of Professional Engineers. "This project has proved to vastly improve the quality of the water discharging into the Long Island Sound through the use of Biological Nutrient Reduction techniques."

The award will be accepted by the engineers' consortium of firms, including Savin Engineers, P.C., Arcadis, CDM Smith and GHD.

"This project will contribute to the benefit of the Long Island Sound significantly," said James Gavin, P.E., Executive Vice President of Savin Engineers. "Savin Engineers is fortunate to be part of the largest infrastructure project in Westchester County."

Christopher Korzenko, P.E., an associate at CDM Smith, added "The New Rochelle WWTP Expansion and Nutrient Removal projects were a collaborative effort with a great client and some of the best and brightest in the engineering community. CDM Smith is honored to have been part of this exceptional team and proud to be a designer of the County's new world class treatment facility."

Engineers representing Arcadis and GHD agreed with their colleagues' assessment of the project's impact on the Long Island Sound.

"The New Rochelle project represents state-of-the-art nutrient removal technology that will have a significant impact on improving the water quality of the Long Island Sound," said Bob Schneider, P.E., Executive Vice President of Arcadis. "Arcadis is proud to be part of this award winning project."

Robert Butterworth, P.E., principal at GHD, added, "We are excited to be a part of this project that utilized advanced technologies to exceed the goals for nitrogen discharges into the Long Island Sound."

Additionally, Sam Wear, Assistant Chief Information Officer for Westchester County, will receive the Outstanding Service to the Profession Award. Wear has been responsible for all elements of the county's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) since 1987.

"As a result of Sam's expertise and management of the GIS team, local municipalities and engineers have access to up-to-the-date information that facilitates emergency response, transportation and land use planning, and promotes strong economic growth," Astorino said.

Westchester County's GIS develops, maintains and distributes digital data for the county, offering a wide range of online data and providing technical support to both local and county government agencies in the areas of emergency response, public safety, health, infrastructure management, land use planning, transportation, natural resource management and green technologies.

"Sam Wear, a Westchester County employee from the Information Technology Department, has earned the Outstanding Service to the Profession award," Villareale said. "His implementation of the county's GIS electronic mapping of Westchester County is available to all engineers and has greatly contributed to the development of planning land use."

According to Wear, the award recognizes the expertise of Westchester's entire GIS department.

"On behalf of my entire staff, I am very honored to be part of this unique government and industry collaborative effort and to receive this award from the Westchester/Putnam Chapter of the New York State Society of Professional Engineers," Wear said. "This recognition speaks to the high quality of geospatial products and services Westchester County GIS produces, which are used by the engineering community in important areas, such as infrastructure management, land planning, and related civil engineering practices. Thanks to the ongoing support of County Executive Astorino, Westchester County will continue to be a national leader in building geospatial applications that supports both residents and businesses in the County."