Bohannan Huston is Part of Santa Fe County Water Project

Bohannan Huston, Inc. (BHI) is part of a design-build team that has been chosen by the Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) Board to develop a water treatment and delivery system for the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County. Named after the historic Old Buckman town site northwest of Santa Fe, which is where the raw water will be drawn from the Rio Grande, the Buckman Direct Diversion Project will consist of a diversion structure on the Rio Grande, a raw water lift station, a sand removal facility, 11 miles of raw water pipelines, two booster stations (for pumping the water approximately 1,100 vertical feet), a water treatment plant, two new treated water pump stations, and 15 miles of finished water pipelines. BHI is responsible for the raw water and finished water pipelines and is already at work on the designs.

The BDD initiated the project in response to decreasing water supplies from the reservoirs and groundwater wells that serve Santa Fe County residents. By providing local communities with an alternative supply of water, the project will give these water sources time to refill so that they remain viable for years to come, especially as reserves during unusually dry years.

The new treatment system, slated for completion in 2010, will divert Rio Grande water through pipelines to two treatment facilities: the Las Campanas Water Treatment Plant and a new plant that will be constructed as part of the project. Treated water will then be pumped to existing water distribution systems for the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County, and thereby delivered to area residents. The project’s overall cost is estimated to be $171 million.