Harold D. Thompson

In 2009, the Lower Fountain Metropolitan Sewage Disposal District (LFMSDD) requested the assistance of GMS, Inc. in the planning, design and construction of a new 2.5 mgd activated sludge wastewater treatment facility to be located approximately 4 miles south of the City of Fountain, in unincorporated El Paso County.  The initial phase of the project included installation of 4,250 lineal feet of 24-inch diameter interceptor sewer and 18,300 lineal feet of 30-inch diameter interceptor sewer.  GMS, Inc. completed the design and acquired all easements necessary for the corridor leading from the southern limits of the City of Fountain to the new wastewater treatment facility that was to be known as the Harold D. Thompson Regional Water Reclamation Facility.  The new activated sludge treatment facility was constructed utilizing a Construction Manager-at-Risk (CMAR) approach, i.e. GMS, Inc. prepared the design in a phased approach and the Contractor constructed the facility following each phase of the design.  The new facility has many buildings including 1) a preliminary treatment building with flow metering and sampling equipment; 2) activated sludge aeration basins that are 63-feet wide, 158-feet long and 24-feet deep; 3) digester basins; 4) biosolids handling facility with belt filter press; 5) air handling building; 6) ultraviolet effluent disinfection facilities; and 7) an office building, laboratory, and a two-bay maintenance facility.  GMS, Inc. took the project from the conceptual phase to a functioning wastewater treatment facility in a few short years.