Utility Plants

Utility plants have to run every day, without exception. DLZ designs sites for wastewater treatment plants, water treatment plants, lift stations, and water towers — the infrastructure that lets our clients deliver essential municipal utilities to their communities. Because we routinely take these projects from concept through construction, we’re able to balance creativity, functionality, client vision, and constructability in every utility plant project.

We focus on thoroughly understanding the operational and security needs of each site, so the solution we deliver gets access, security, circulation, and exterior improvements right. Our strong design capabilities combined with solid engineering expertise help these facilities perform reliably for the communities that depend on them.

Featured Capabilities

Site Selection

Given the sensitive nature of these facilities, site selection is often part of our scope. DLZ evaluates ease of access, adjacent uses, spatial needs for current and future expansion, and proximity to available existing utilities, supported by site inventory, analysis, and conceptual layout work. We weigh these factors against long-term capacity needs, since utility plants are typically designed to serve a community for decades, well beyond the scope of the initial project.

Design & Construction Documents

We carry site improvements from concept through bid-ready construction documents, including site layout plans, grading and drainage plans, site utilities, and landscape planting plans. We coordinate closely with the process and mechanical engineers designing plant operations, so site civil work supports the facility’s operational needs rather than constraining them.

Site Access & Security

Design often includes perimeter fencing and access-controlled gates, bollards, and other measures that protect critical infrastructure. These measures are designed to meet the security expectations that come with essential public utility assets, while still allowing efficient access for daily operations and maintenance staff.

Vehicular Circulation

DLZ plans for staff parking, maintenance and chemical delivery vehicles, and equipment replacement needs, keeping heavy and routine traffic moving safely through the site. Circulation is planned around the specific turning radii and load requirements of tanker trucks and heavy maintenance equipment, not just passenger vehicles.

Specialty Exterior Improvements

We design settlement basins, cold water discharges, containment areas, tanks, and other specialty site features unique to utility plant operations. These features are engineered to meet regulatory discharge and containment requirements while integrating cleanly into the rest of the site’s grading and drainage design.

Buffering

DLZ designs screen fences, walls, and plantings that buffer utility plant operations from surrounding neighbors and land uses. Thoughtful buffering reduces noise, odor, and visual impact on adjacent properties, helping utility providers maintain good relationships with the communities they serve.

Related Work

All Work

Tappan Lake Park Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)

Deersville

, Ohio

Wastewater Collection and Treatment

Kosciusko County

, Indiana

Water/Wastewater Utility Expansion Master Planning

Valparaiso

, Indiana

St. Joseph Energy Center Water Treatment Plant

New Carlisle

, Indiana

Related Capabilities

Water
Site/Civil Engineering
Hydraulics
Building Engineering

Matt

Doyle, PE, LEED AP

Proejct Manager

Indiana

James

Toto, PE

Director of Water and Site Civil Practice

Ohio

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