Houston Waterworks Team: 4 Million Man-Hours with Zero Lost Time Accidents 

HOUSTON—The Houston Waterworks Team (HWT), a joint venture of CDM Smith and Jacobs for the $1.77B Northeast Water Purifi­ca­tion Plant Expansion (NEWPP) project, has passed the milestone of 4 million man-hours with zero lost time accidents. This milestone demon­strates that HWT is well-trained and well-structured to continue our proven safety performance to the 5 million man-hour mark and beyond.

Since construc­tion began in mid-2018, an average of 800 profes­sion­als have been working on site every day. Peak workforce days have exceeded 1,200 on-site personnel. Four years remain until the Plant’s completion. It is the largest progressive design-build drinking water treatment plant project in the country.

In addition to an exemplary safety record, the project is on-budget and on-time, all while maintaining excellent quality. This project will increase the City of Houston’s ability to provide reliable and safe drinking water by 320 million gallons per day. In addition, the NEWPP project is helping to reduce area subsidence by using surface water sources for drinking water production in lieu of groundwater sources. The team is determined to secure the drinking water supply for the Houston metro area for generations to come. 

This accom­plish­ment is a testament to the team’s commitment to safety. Our health and safety (H&S) program is based on the principles that people are our greatest asset, accidents and injuries are preventable, and everyone is responsible for safety.

"It is a tremendous milestone that could not have possibly been achieved without the commitment from each and every person on site—from the skilled labor to executive management," said senior vice president and project construction manager Michael Dzubnar, PE, DBIA. "Safety is a culture that must be embraced by everyone in order for it to be effective. The respon­si­bil­ity of our safety profes­sion­als and all of our Houston Waterworks Team is to lead by example, develop, teach and reinforce our safety culture."

CDM Smith is a privately owned engineering and construc­tion firm providing legendary client service and smart solutions in water, environment, trans­porta­tion, energy and facilities. Passionate about our work and invested in each other, we are inspired to think and driven to solve the world’s envi­ron­men­tal and infra­struc­ture challenges.