In March 2021, the city of Bemidji, Minnesota, began operation of a new water treatment plant designed by Barr to manage drinking water impacted by per- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Now the city has begun a second phase of the project that will increase the plant’s capacity.
Eight years ago, when Bemidji discovered PFAS in its water supply, it turned to Barr to plan for and implement immediate and short-term response actions and evaluated and tested alternatives for a long-term solution. We ultimately designed and provided construction observation for a 2.2 million-gallons-per-day drinking water plant that successfully removes PFAS, iron, and manganese. For more about this phase of the project, read a project description and view a short video (at right).
The current work, which kicked off this summer, will include design and construction of an expansion that will increase the plant’s capacity from 1,500 to 2,500 gallons per minute and will add human-occupancy areas, including offices and a conference room. This work is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2023.