In February 2024, the Engineering and Public Works Roadshow stopped in Phoenix to celbrate the Northwest Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Project.
The project build on the momentum of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science (CHIPS) Act of 2022. Among other things, the Act serves to encourage semiconductor manufacturing here in the United States. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) saw this opportunity and decided to bring state-of-the-art semiconductor technology to Phoenix.
TSMC is investing over $12 billion to bring its manufacturing plant
to the City of Phoenix. In turn, the City committed to providing
the water and wastewater infrastructure as well as transportation
access TSMC would need for its semiconductor plant.
Engineering firms were selected for their design expertise to generate the design for the development’s wastewater collection system and the water system, respectively, which involved creating provisions for the TSMC plant to manage its wastewater outputs and water demands prior to its production activities in 2024. The need for water for the immediate construction needs and means to dispose the wastewater were critical for the startup and commissioning prior to the 2024 time frame.
The $125 million construction project required the installation of the water and wastewater infrastructure within an exceedingly accelerated schedule that allowed less than six months for preconstruction and procurement and only a nine-month window
for construction.
The Northwest Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Project is a true
example of how early planning, attention to safety and quality, and
focus on partnering can result in a highly successful project. This
project epitomized partnering excellence through extensive teamwork and the synergy of all parties involved, which included the owner, designers, neighboring contractors and the end utility user.
