Vogel Bros. Building Co. served as the General Contractor for the expansion and rehabilitation of the City of Bartow’s Doug Allen Water Reclamation Facility, increasing plant capacity from 4.0 MGD to 5.33 MGD.
Originally delivered as a design-bid-build project, the work evolved into a collaborative hybrid delivery approach when significant design deficiencies were identified. Vogel Bros. partnered closely with the City of Bartow and the Engineer of Record to provide preconstruction and construction services, redesign critical process components, and ensure the facility achieved its required 5.33 MGD capacity.
The project included construction of two new Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) basins and rehabilitation of three existing basins, including replacement of mixers, sludge pumps, jet headers, and decanters. Additional improvements encompassed rehabilitation of existing blowers and associated electrical and instrumentation systems, repairs to the chlorine contact chamber and effluent pumping wet well, replacement of effluent pumps, and full conversion of the plant’s SCADA system.
Further scope included rehabilitation of the existing headworks with installation of a new screen and replacement of damaged gates, redesign of the SBR effluent system to resolve conflicts and accommodate the new basins, miscellaneous sitework, and integration of instrumentation and control systems.
Throughout construction, Vogel Bros. maintained continuous plant operations through complex bypass pumping operations and coordinated extensive electrical upgrades, including installation of a new 3,000 kVA service. The completed project enhances treatment capacity, operational reliability, and long-term sustainability for both the City of Bartow and the adjoining Polk County Utilities service area.
