Restoring Critical Infrastructure After An Unmanageable Flood Event

On March 15, 2019, after days of heavy precipitation fell upon frozen ground throughout the Omaha area of Nebraska, the levees adjacent to the Papillion Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility overtopped, forcing plant staff to shut down power to this critical wastewater facility and quickly evacuate as the floodwaters began to rise. Within hours, most of the facility was submerged in more than eight feet of floodwater, rendering critical infrastructure unusable and shutting down the plant. 

Before the floodwaters receded, the City and our HDR team began to determine time frames to restore facility operations and together developed a unique process to quickly implement task orders under the City’s emergency procurement methods. The team faced challenging site conditions — including no access road, no power, raw sewage across the site and high river levels causing security and safety concerns at the facility. 

Each of the highly complex elements was divided into manageable task orders and work items. The solutions were cost-effective and allowed for competitive pricing, despite a critical, regional shortage of construction workers due to widespread flooding.

Primary treatment and solids dewatering were achieved approximately one month after the flood, with pre-flood treatment achieved a month later. This extraordinary effort took around-the-clock dedication from the City and the entire project team. Management and staff from the City’s two water resource recovery facilities worked around the clock for months, first to build flood protection walls to protect infrastructure, and then to restore critical facility operations.

This comprehensive approach to program management and mitigation services can help other communities minimize the impacts of natural disasters, protect their resources, maintain their organizational image, and preserve health and safety. Communities can also employ the team’s approach to efficiently return their damaged assets to service and effectively manage fiscal impacts, public image and risk.

As an extension of City staff, our team brought order to the disaster by combining proven emergency management professionals with industry-leading technical expertise, including electrical, structural, civil, wastewater process, mechanical and architectural. With dedicated “boots on the ground,” we formulated engineering solutions and cost estimates, and developed processes and procedures to support grant eligibility, management and eventual reimbursement.