ACEC Minnesota has awarded HR Green and their clients, the City of St. Paul and Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES), Honor Awards in the 2021 Engineering Excellence Awards competition. The annual Engineering Excellence Awards recognize the state’s most notable engineering accomplishments during the past year. Award winners are named based on how well projects demonstrated innovation, complexity, achievement, and value to the industry.
Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary – St. Paul, Minnesota
The Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary project reversed historic environmental degradation that was preventing safe use of the area by humans and wildlife alike. One of the City’s project goals was to prepare the site for recreational use by remediation of environmental impacts to minimize risks to human health and the environment.
Included in the design of the lift station and force main are a sediment removal sump and an innovative pump control system that reduces energy use and reduces suspended solids from entering the Trout Brook.
Ultimately, the multi-year project improved water quality, reduced human and wildlife risk from soil contamination, restored ecological diversity, and addressed a pressing societal need for a safe and educational recreational space for a neighborhood in the heart of the City that was committed to making it happen.
L27 Lift Station Improvements – Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) – Hopkins, Minnesota
The L27 Lift Station replaced an existing, aging facility in Hopkins, Minnesota, which was over 40 years old, had significant condition issues, and lacked redundancy.
A large wet well design was selected because of the cost and risks of constructing a deep, large interceptor pipe for response time storage and the site plan was developed to avoid wetland impacts.
The new facility’s design and construction materials were selected to blend into the natural setting of the neighborhood. The improvements will provide safe and reliable wastewater service to the Hopkins area for another 50 years or more, significantly increasing long-term system reliability, protecting properties, and the local natural resources.
