Abert Water Filtration Plant Rehabilitation
City of Lynchburg, VA

The Abert Water Filtration Plant is a 12-million-gallon-per-day (mgd) high-rate water filtration plant owned and operated by the City of Lynchburg, Virginia.  Located in Bedford County, the plant obtains raw water from the Pedlar Reservoir that is supplemented by water from the James River.  The plant was constructed in 1974 and consisted of chemical addition; rapid mixing; flocculation; sedimentation; four filter units, each having a rated capacity of 3 mgd; fluoridation; and disinfection.  Filters were Roberts Filters with Wheeler bottoms.  Filter media was of the multimedia type with a granular activated carbon (GAC) cap used for taste and odor control.

The City of Lynchburg desired to repair or replace filter components including filter media, filter bottoms, troughs, walls, surface-wash equipment, surface-wash pumps, filter valves and operators, influent gates, rate-of-flow controllers, loss-of-head indicators, filter consoles, and associated SCADA controls.  HSMM utilized the subconsulting services of Synchrony Industrial Controls, Inc. for control system design.  Plant had to remain in service 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the construction phase.