Civil Water Solutions

About Our Company:

Civil Water Solutions provides innovative designs and solutions for municipalities, special districts, and industries. We are passionate about water.

Our sustainable designs feature water and energy efficiency combined with a philosophy of environmental stewardship. An efficient approach maximizes the clients' environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Civil Water Solutions is sensitive to clients' needs, tailoring creative answers to complex challenges. A responsive presence leads to productive results. Client satisfaction is accomplished by working in partnership.

Your goals are our goals.

About Our Principal:

Raymond D. Hamilton PE, BCEE is Principal Engineer for Civil Water Solutions. Ray is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer with over 34 years of progressive engineering and management experience. His professional experience has been primarily in the fields of water and wastewater planning, engineering design and construction; and water resources management.

Education

• M.S., Civil Engineering (Sanitary Engineering Option), 1975
  University of Kentucky
• B.S., Civil Engineering, 1973
  University of Kentucky

Current Professional Registration and Board Certifications

• Registered Professional Engineer: 
  Colorado - 37464
• Board Certified Diplomate in Water & Wastewater Engineering by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers - Certificate 89-20041

Organizations

• American Academy of Environmental Engineers
• American Public Works Association
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• American Water Resources Association
• American Water Works Association - Life Member
• Colorado Water Congress
• National Society of Professional Engineers
• Water Environment Federation

Areas of Practice Include: 

Water Reclamation and Reuse

In today's arid and semi-arid West, reclamation and reuse of our valuable water resources is paramount to meeting tomorrow’s water demands. In addition to authoring several magazine articles and presentations on the subject, Ray has been involved with several recent water reclamation and reuse projects.

• Non-Potable Water Master Plan, City of Westminster, CO; Project Director. Completed a comprehensive evaluation of the non-potable demands, and distribution system to expand the City’s reclaimed water program.
• Water Reclamation Facility, Front Range Airport Authority, Suburban Denver, CO;Project Manager. Completed planning and design for a Membrane Bioreactor wastewater treatment plant to provide treated effluent for unrestricted landscape irrigation.
• Non-Potable Water System, Alamosa, CO; Project Manager. Because of high arsenic in several of the City's wells, these wells were disconnected from the potable system and a separate non-potable distribution system was developed using a combination of existing and new water lines. As a separate project, a water rate study was conducted to determine potable and non-potable water rates.
• Landscape Irrigation Conversion, Adams State College, Alamosa, CO; Project Director. As part of the above project, Adams State College converted their campus-wide landscape irrigation system to non-potable water. A new non-potable distribution system was constructed using largely trenchless technology to minimize campus disruption.

Wastewater Treatment 

Ray is experienced in process and final design, and operations assistance over a broad range of treatment capacities from 0.09 MGD to 1,200 MGD.

• Lone Tree Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements, JBS/Swift and Company, Greeley, CO;; Project Director/Manager. Designed new 3.57 MGD Biological Nutrient Removal Facility for a high strength slaughterhouse wastewater. Denitrification facilities were included to recover alkalinity and dissolved oxygen.
• Multi-Year Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements, Delta, CO; Project Manager. Projects have included new dewatering centrifuge, replacement of an obsolete mechanical bar screen with a new rotary fine screen, replacement of influent screw pumps, complete analysis of plant HVAC and electrical systems, and evaluation of secondary treatment process alternatives to replace the existing Rotating Biological Contactors. The process simulation model BioWin3 was used for the analysis.
• Massachusetts Water and Sewer Authority (MWRA) Operations Study, Deer Island, MA; Senior Technical Consultant. Made recommendations relative to the operation and staffing at the Deer Island 1,200 MGD (780 MGD Secondary) Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Lease Negotiations, City of Cranston, RI; Senior Technical Advisor. Advised the city's negotiating team for the 25-year lease of the city's 20 MGD wastewater treatment plant. After competitive selection of operating firm, finalized contract negotiations for the lease of the facility, design-build of approximately $18 million in capital improvements, and payment of a $48 million dollar up-front lease payment.
• Central Wastewater Treatment Plant Optimization and Performance Audit, City of Nashville, TN; Project Manager. Performed an assessment of the 350 MGD Central Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project included staff change training, review of past performance, energy audits, and plant staffing. Made recommendations for improved operation efficiency and cost savings.
• McAlpine Wastewater Treatment Plant Biosolids Improvements, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department, Charlotte, NC; Project Manager. Improvements to the solids handling system at a 64 MGD facility. Procured and installed two new 83-ton/day dewatering centrifuges. Overhauled an existing dewatering centrifuge and converted it to thickening service.
• Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Biosolids Improvements, Charlotte- Mecklenburg Utility Department, Charlotte, NC; Project Manager. Renovation/conversion of five anaerobic digesters at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department's 15 MGD facility. Three were converted to single-stage fixed cover digesters with mechanical mixing. Two were converted to Hydro-seal floating cover gas holders. The project included new sludge grinders, new recirculation pumps, new heat exchangers, new sludge gas conditioning, new gas-fired hot water boilers, and new sludge transfer pumps.

Water Treatment 

Like wastewater facilities, Ray's experience covers a broad range of capacities and treatment processes.

• Water Treatment Plant Improvements, Canon City, CO; Project Manager. Provided planning, design and construction administration for miscellaneous support facilities at the City's 22-MGD WTP. Projects included a new 5.0-MG clearwell, 1,800-gpm backwash supply pump station, residual handling and drying facilities, and an emergency raw water pump station.
• Membrane Water Treatment Plant, Oak Creek, CO; Project Manager. Provided process design and final design for a 1.0-MGD submerged membrane water treatment plant. At the time of construction, the facility was the first USFilter submerged membrane water treatment plant in the United States.
• Nashville Water Treatment Plant Automation and Staffing Analysis, Nashville, TN;Project Manager. Performed an assessment of the 60 MGD Omohundro Water Treatment Plant. The existing facility incorporated little instrumentation and control. Investigated automation alternatives and compared the cost of implementation to the predicted staff labor savings. The cost-effective automation strategies will be incorporated into the Phase III construction improvements as the plant is expanded to 90 MGD.
• Water Supply Optimization Study, City of Newark, NJ; Senior Technical Consultant. Participated in the competitive assessment and optimization effort for the city's water supply departments. This project included assessment of the city's 64-square-mile watershed system at the Pequannock Watershed in western New Jersey and 80 miles of transmission aqueducts.
• Water Treatment Plant Evaluation, City of Lincolnton, NC; Project Manager. Performed an independent review of improvements proposed to upgrade the city's 6.3 MGD surface water treatment facility to meet new and potential requirements of the SDWA. Particular emphasis was placed on the clearwell/high service pump system c-t values related to appropriate Giardia log removal for an at-risk rural watershed.
• Sweeney Water Treatment Plant Evaluation, City of Wilmington, NC; Principal-in-Charge/Project Manager. Evaluated the feasibility of upgrading and expanding the existing water treatment plant. The report recommended a cost-effective solution to expand the water treatment plant to 24 MGD and provide treatment processes to meet current and expected drinking water regulations.
• Cooleemee Water Treatment Plant, Phase I Improvements. Davie County, Mocksville, NC; Project Manager. Initial improvements needed to increase the capacity of the water treatment plant form 2 MGD to 3 MGD. This phase included construction of a pre-settling reservoir to dampen raw water turbidity variations, new river water pump station, intermediate pump station, settling basin enlargement and new high-service pumps.
• Water Treatment Plant Alum Sludge Investigation, City of Eden, NC; Project Manager. Discharge of the water treatment plant alum sludge into the city's sewer system was causing problems with high aluminum content in the wastewater treatment plant's sludge, which was being land-applied. Conducted an investigation to determine if it were more cost-effective to recycle alum, treat and dispose of alum sludge separately, or to continue discharge to the city's sewer system. Considered alum sludge contributions to the sewer system from both the city's water treatment plant and that of Fieldcrest Industries.
• Water Plant Evaluation and Improvement Design, City of Hamlet, NC; Project Manager. Prepared a preliminary engineering report to analyze the water treatment needs for the city. Initially, it was thought that a new water plant would be most cost-effective, but more detailed investigations determined that it would be more cost-effective to upgrade and expand the existing facility. Final design included addition of alum sludge handling facilities, including a backwash retention basin, a sludge lagoon, and a recycle pump station. The undersized filter gallery piping was completely replaced to allow a higher filtration rate without hydraulic limitations. The filter bottom, media, and washwater troughs were also replaced in the remaining filters.
• Water Treatment Plant Chlorination Improvements, Town of Hillsborough, NC; Project Manager. Investigated the existing water treatment plant chlorine facilities. The existing facilities did not meet current standards regarding employer and neighborhood safety. A new chlorination facility, including provisions for the adequate handling of chlorine cylinders, was proposed.
• Replacement of High-service Pumps, Motors, and Controls, City of New Bern, NC;Project Manager. The city's primary high-service pump station had three motors over 50 years old and replacement parts for the controls and motors were difficult to obtain. The project included immediate replacement of the motors and controls, with provision for pump replacement in conjunction with a piping upgrade when demand conditions warrant.
• Gastonia Water Treatment Plant Expansion, City of Gastonia, NC; Project Manager. Expanded the existing water treatment plant by duplication of existing units. New sedimentation basins, filters, and clear-well storage were implemented. A unique feature of this project included the use of extreme rate filtration in multi-media gravity filters; the approved filter rate was 6 gallons per minute per square foot.

Water Resources

Ray's experience in water resources includes large basin, complex, urban drainage studies, stream restoration, and small dams and reservoirs.

• 25th Avenue Gravel Pit Storage Pond Design, Greeley, CO; Project Manager. Designed the inlet and pump station outlet works for the augmentation storage pond. Design challenges included a 60-vertical-foot variable water surface elevation. Multiple vertical turbine pumps were selected to accommodate the varying head conditions.
• Church Ditch Flood Diversion Structure, Jefferson County, CO; Project Engineer. To prevent stormwater flooding, a diversion structure was created above the pipe section to divert flows above the decreed channel flow into Clear Creek. The design was complicated by the need to prevent reduction of flow from an inverted siphon immediately upstream of the diversion point.
• Watershed Studies, Mecklenburg County, NC; Project Principal/Technical Advisor. Prepared reach specific floodplain improvement projects for various watersheds throughout the county. The main purpose of the projects was to look for creative solutions to traditional flood control projects that would accomplish the dual purpose of decreasing flood damage while enhancing water quality. Recommendations included relocation/demolition of repetitive damage structures, constructing water quality retention basins with sediment capture forebays, recreation of natural stream meanders with floodplain benches for flood peak storage, and other water quality and fish habitat improvements.
• City-Wide Stormwater Master Planning, Winston-Salem, NC; Project Manager. As part of the Phase II, Stormwater NPDES permitting process prepared detailed stormwater master plans for all watersheds within the 100-mi2 City. This was a three year, $5,000,000 program.

Published Magazine Articles and Presentations

The following list of magazine articles and presentations have been published and made by Mr. Hamilton since 2001: 

Raymond D. Hamilton, “Water, Water Everywhere,” Water Environment & Technology, January 2004, pp. 35-39. 

Raymond D. Hamilton, “Stretching Your Water Supply Through Reuse Treatment,” paper presented at Colorado Water Congress, Denver, CO, January 24, 2008. 

Raymond D. Hamilton; Dave Dalsoglio, 'Two-Stage Pumping for a 3.07-MGD, High-Head Lift Station in Broomfield, Colorado,” paper presented at RMWEA/RMAWWA annual conference, Keystone, CO, September 12, 2007 

Raymond D. Hamilton, “Program Management Tools to Ensure Project Success,” paper presented at Colorado Water Congress, Denver, CO, January 25, 2007. 

Raymond D. Hamilton, “Water Supply Planning in the Upper Uncompahgre River Valley” paper presented at the Colorado Water Congress, Denver, CO, January 26, 2006. 

Raymond D. Hamilton, 'Treatment of a High Mountain Water Supply with Direct Microfiltration”, paper presented at RMWEA/RMAWWA annual conference, Albuquerque, NM, September 12, 2005. 

Raymond D. Hamilton, “Going Deep in Greeley, the 25th Avenue Gravel Pits Augmentation Ponds,” paper presented at the Colorado Water Congress, Denver, CO, January 27, 2005. 

Raymond D. Hamilton “Program Management Lets Any Size Community Play with the Big Boys”, presentation at the Colorado Municipal League Annual Conference, Steamboat Springs, CO, June 24, 2004. 

Raymond D. Hamilton, “Centralized vs. Distributed Reuse Treatment,” paper presented at WEFTEC, Los Angeles, CA, October 13, 2003. 

Raymond D. Hamilton; Tracy Kittell, “Sewer System Master Planning - From Modeling To Reality” paper presented at RMWEA/RMAWWA annual conference, Casper, WY, September 16, 2003. 

Raymond D. Hamilton; Irma Terral, et.al.,. 'City of Aurora Piney Creek Lift Station: The Good Neighbor Facility', paper presented at RMWEA/RMAWWA annual conference, Steamboat Springs, CO, September, 2002.