TABLE OF CONTENTS Darryl J.Corbin
MWH
Dallas, Texas
Siting water treatment plants is becoming more complicated as public awareness and environmental activism increase. From the public s perspective, water treatment plants are often perceived in the same light as wastewater treatment plants, solid waste transfer stations, incinerators, and compost facilities. They are often categorized as a LULU locally unwanted land use, or locally unacceptable land use.
In this chapter, site selection and plant arrangement are portrayed as sequential tasks: First find the site, then determine the best plant arrangement for that site. It should be recognized, however, that the two steps are not strictly sequential and are closely interrelated. One must have a preliminary plant layout before the site selection process can begin. Without a preliminary plant layout, it would be difficult to evaluate potential sites with regard to the shape of the land parcel, site topography, aesthetic effects, and so on.
Having a preliminary plant layout is also an important requirement for any public participation efforts undertaken during the site selection process. Artist renderings and other graphics that show how the proposed plant will look are an important tool for educating the public about the project. The preliminary plant layout should be developed with due consideration to likely public opposition, because the plant layout can greatly affect public acceptance of the site selection. Feedback from the public often results in changes to the preliminary plant arrangement to address real or perceived concerns. Public concerns about the plant appearance and...
