15 March 2010
One of the world's leading engineering, architecture and
environmental consulting companies, GHD, and the Town of Chatham,
Massachusetts have been awarded the Grand Prize for Planning
Projects by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE)
for the development of the Chatham Comprehensive Wastewater
Management Planning project.
The Chatham project, completed by GHD’s Hyannis,
Massachusetts office, received the award for satisfying a number of
criteria, including the demonstration of a comprehensive
integrated approach that considers all environmental media (air,
water, land), quality as evidenced by the degree of user
satisfaction and proven performance, originality and innovation,
problem complexity, and the extent to which the project contributes
to social and economic advancement.
The project, the first of its kind for Cape Cod,
develops and implements a plan to meet very stringent non-point
source nitrogen Total Maximum Daily Loads for the four coastal
estuaries which surround Chatham. The plan also addresses
wastewater and stormwater-related impacts to the town’s drinking
water (groundwater) supplies and freshwater ponds. It was a 12-year
planning process that offered a comprehensive process with respect
to addressing stakeholder comments and building town consensus to
approve the plan and appropriate money for its implementation.
The award will be presented on May 4 at the
National Press Club in Washington, DC during the AAEE Awards
Luncheon and Conference.
The Town of Chatham is located on the “elbow” of
Cape Cod and is surrounded by beautiful coastal waters that attract
many summer residents and vacationers. These waters have been
observed to be impacted by the increased land use and this plan was
developed to address the current problems and manage the waters in
the future.
For more information, please contact Kane Dowsett