innovationinnovation and sustainability are the essence of the freese and nichols culture. from...

INNOVATIONINNOVATIONa Freese and Nichols publication

2 3Freese and Nichols

Inspired Innovation At Freese and Nichols, we understand that your challenges have become larger, costlier

and more complicated. This is where we thrive. For 125 years, we’ve built our reputation on

innovative client service, guiding organizations large and small through their toughest problems.

Innovation and sustainability are the essence of the Freese and Nichols culture. From tuition

assistance to research funding to the Innovation Awards, we’ve structured our company to

inspire innovation every day. The results are sustainable solutions for our clients that span

disciplines, markets and geography. Please join us as we visit these projects, and thank you for

the opportunity to partner together.

Brian Coltharp, PE

President and CEO

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Innovative From the Start Freese and Nichols celebrates 125 years of innovation and partnering

with communities like yours. We trace our roots back to our founder,

Major John Hawley, the first independent consulting engineer for water

and sewer work in Texas. Over the decades, our staff have pioneered

many areas in our industry including design of the nation’s first large

dual-purpose reservoir, early adoption of the activated sludge process

and bringing root dendrogeomorphology to the United States. We have

become nationally ranked for design, construction management and

program management, and environmental services in numerous market

sectors. We are poised to continue providing innovative approaches,

practical results and outstanding service for many years to come.

4 5Freese and Nichols INNOVATION

City leaders in Colleyville wanted to develop an unadorned

lawn across from City Hall and the Public Library into a

dynamic public plaza for family outings, daily lunch breaks

and popular community events, such as the annual Christmas

Tree Lighting. Freese and Nichols designed an urban-infill park

that tied the public buildings to the green space while blending

with the Mediterranean-style architecture of the surrounding

commercial-residential development. Our Urban Planning +

Design team worked closely with City staff to understand their

vision and stay within budget limits. Using advanced graphic

skills and technologies to create 3-D schematics, the team

helped City leaders and the public choose from among varying

designs. The new Colleyville Plaza transforms the street in

front of City Hall into a pedestrian-friendly corridor adjacent to

a welcoming community centerpiece featuring a covered stage,

string lighting and seating, adorned with native Texas plants.

C o l l e y v i l l e P l a z a / C i t y o f C o l l e y v i l l e

A COMMUNITY’S DYNAMIC PUBLIC PLAZA

Henry Hartshorn, RLA, ASLA, is a Landscape Architect in Frisco.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

• The plan features a palette of regionally appropriate trees, shrubs and ornamental plantings, more than 50% of them native or adaptive to North Texas.

• Water-efficient irrigation through a subgrade dripline system reduces surface runoff and saves on costs to the City.

• Central operation of the plaza fountain, including display effects, lighting, wind controls and weather sensors, through wireless Bluetooth technology helps conserve resources.

• High-efficiency LED lighting and fixtures with built-in sensors throughout the park reduce electricity needs.

Sustainable features


Ed Dickson, PE, CFM, is a Stormwater Engineer and FEMA Project Manager in Charlotte.

Jeremy Dixon, PE, CFM, is a Stormwater Engineer in Dallas.

F e a t u r e d

Innovators

When Hurricane Florence threatened and then hit the

Carolinas, Freese and Nichols helped guide the South Carolina

Department of Natural Resources’ Flood Mitigation Program

before, during and after the storm. Freese and Nichols staff

worked around the clock to develop a large hydraulic model to

help the DNR inform and manage state emergency resources.

Our team created new scripting procedures and data capture

tools to automatically download and analyze hydrologic data.

The model was reviewed and updated continuously to obtain

quick and accurate results. The innovative tools and methods

developed during Hurricane Florence enabled Freese and

Nichols to hydraulically model 4.5 million acres – approximately

one-quarter of South Carolina – in less than two days without

preprocessed data readily available.

H u r r i c a n e F l o r e n c e R e s p o n s e / S o u t h C a r o l i n a D e p a r t m e n t o f N a t u r a l R e s o u r c e s

A TRUSTED ADVISOR IN A TRYING TIME

• Our team consulted with state and federal officials daily, offering guidance that assisted their decisions on sending alerts and staging law enforcement resources in the days prior to and the weeks following landfall.

• Using publicly available data, our team used HEC-RAS 2D simulation capabilities to apply direct rainfall onto the 7,000-square mile study area and determine the watershed’s hydraulic response to the forecasted and observed precipitation.

• A previous model for this effort did not exist. We built the model such that DNR could continue to improve upon our foundation and use the model for future events.

• Our focused and coordinated modeling efforts helped to drastically reduce the number of water rescues by state emergency response personnel during flooding caused by Hurricane Florence as compared to Hurricane Matthew in 2016.



An expanding population in the City of El Reno means a lot

more drivers on the Central Oklahoma community’s roadways.

The City’s main intersection of U.S. 81 and State Highway 66

saw an increase in accidents and congestion, along with issues

in geometric offset and directional movements. To solve these

problems, Freese and Nichols analyzed traffic and redesigned

the intersection for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

At public involvement meetings, our team used a hands-on,

interactive scale model to get the community’s feedback.

Following public and stakeholder input, our team redesigned the

intersection as a four-legged, multilane roundabout – the first on

ODOT’s system, which is expected to improve operations and

reduce serious crashes through the area. The redesign also

creates a gateway feature for El Reno and can be modified as

the City continues to grow.

U S 81 / S H 6 6 I n t e r s e c t i o n M o d i f i c a t i o n s / O k l a h o m a D e p a r t m e n t o f T r a n s p o r t a t i o n

REDESIGNING FOR A SAFER FUTURE

Brandon Huxford, PE, is a Transportation Project Manager in Oklahoma City.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

• A roundabout is more economical and requires less maintenance than a standard intersection.

• The redesign reduces the amount of concrete and pavement needed.

• Redesign created a gateway feature for the City of El Reno with a new greenspace and monumentation.



The North Alamo Water Supply Corporation serves 180,000

residents in the Rio Grande Valley. To keep up with demand

that’s expected to more than double over the next 50 years,

NAWSC sought to increase the amount of potable water

produced through its brackish groundwater desalination plants

while also reducing costs. A Freese and Nichols study of

energy-efficient alternatives for removing salt from brackish

groundwater found that NAWSC could achieve its goals —

and still produce safe drinking water — by replacing reverse

osmosis membranes with nanofiltration membranes. An in-

depth evaluation of two of NAWSC’s desalination plants showed

potential energy savings of 50% in the desalination process.

Retrofitting and expanding four existing desalination plants

using nanofiltration is projected to save $81 per acre-foot across

the life cycle, a 16% cost reduction. The project, funded in part

by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Freese and Nichols’

Research and Development fund, helps advance consideration

of brackish groundwater to supplement water supplies.

B r a c k i s h G r o u n d w a t e r D e s a l i n a t i o n F e a s i b i l i t y S t u d y / N o r t h A l a m o W a t e r S u p p ly C o r p o r a t i o n

FINDING WATER, SAVING ENERGY

Jorge Arroyo, PE, is a Treatment Engineer in Austin.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

• Retrofitting two desalination plants with nanofiltration membranes will cut in half the amount of energy needed for desalination.

• The two facilities also will achieve environmental benefits, reducing their combined concentrate discharge by almost 20 million gallons per year.



Freese and Nichols partnered with the Town of Chapel

Hill to develop and implement a new way to manage their

projects. This approach incorporated the Town’s culture of

inclusiveness and transparency, with input from more than 20

project managers, 10 departments and other staff – all as the

Town continued designing and constructing record numbers

of capital projects. The program involved recommendations

for improving the Town’s project management capabilities,

then implementation of the highest priority recommendations.

This was accomplished by creating project management tools

and establishing standard processes. A powerful program

management information system was also customized for the

Town to assist them with this effort and a project management

certification program, containing 32 hours of training, was

developed. In the words of Town leaders, “Throughout this

effort, the Freese and Nichols team modeled the principles and

program management practices they were developing for our

Town.” This customized approach enabled Chapel Hill to be

their own program manager in a more cohesive, collaborative,

efficient and effective manner.

B o n d / C a p i t a l P r o g r a m M a n a g e m e n t / T o w n o f C h a p e l H i l l

EMPOWERING TOWN STAFF

Morgan McIlwain, PE, PMP, is a Program Manager in Raleigh.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

• The Town now has a foundation and structure that can be expanded to new projects as they arise.

• The tools developed enable the Town to develop better scopes, schedules and budgets.

• The processes and tools developed by Freese and Nichols equip the Town to manage and coordinate their own projects as a cohesive program, conserving resources.



In an industry as competitive as oil and gas, time is of the

essence. Freese and Nichols has developed multiple modular

compressor station designs to allow shop labor to replace field

labor cutting fabrication time and cost by almost half. Operators

can take advantage of shop labor’s ability to work around the

clock, produce independent of weather conditions, and provide

a higher quality assembly replete with X-ray, hydrotest, paint,

insulation and heat-trace prior to shipment. Modular designs

reduce foundation costs and time in the field for construction,

thereby lowering inspection and per diem costs. Skid-mounted

headers and equipment also provide portability so a compressor

station can be moved to new locations inexpensively. Entire

stations can be inventoried ready for rapid deployment.

M o d u l a r C o m p r e s s i o n D e s i g n / M u l t i p l e P r i v a t e C l i e n t s

ENABLING A QUICK TURNAROUND

Aaron Hanks, PE, is an Oil and Gas Engineer in Dallas. He is the Energy Lead Technical Professional.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

• Having a modular design allows components to be reused elsewhere once a site has been decommissioned.

• The design reduces the amount of concrete needed for setting up the site and eases site remediation.

• The modular design lowers construction cost and time in field, resulting in lower exposure to injury in field.

• Shop fabrication results in a higher quality product that is X-rayed, hydrotested and painted before deployment.



The Leon Creek Water Recycling Center, a key component of

the San Antonio Water System, needed updating, particularly to

automate some of the inefficient processes that were straining

the facility’s operating budget and staff. Freese and Nichols led

$11.5 million worth of rehabilitations and process improvements,

and the project saved money on electricity, chemicals and labor.

The improvements included automating the aeration system to

optimize air flow to each aeration basin and improve efficiency

and automating the chlorination/dechlorination system to reduce

chemical use and, overall, hours spent on manual adjustments

of these systems. Our team also designed and oversaw

construction of a bypass pumping installation to allow for 100%

bypass of plant flows during the rehabilitation. This enabled

operations to continue at full capacity without interruption,

ensuring service to SAWS customers in the San Antonio area.

L e o n C r e e k W a t e r R e c y c l i n g C e n t e r R e h a b i l i t a t i o n / S a n A n t o n i o W a t e r S y s t e m

REHABILITATION WITHOUT INTERRUPTION

Coby Gee, PE, ENV SP, is a Treatment, Transmission and Utilities Engineer in Austin.

John Manning, PE, is an Electrical Engineer in Fort Worth.

F e a t u r e d

Innovators

• Automating the aeration system reduced SAWS’s electric bill more than 25%.

• Automating the chlorination/dechlorination system significantly reduced chemical use by eliminating manual adjustment of concentration levels.



Texas’ first major reservoir in nearly 30 years, Bois d’Arc Lake

will supply 1.7 million residents with drinking water starting

in 2022. At the heart of the $1.6 billion project for the North

Texas Municipal Water District is a 236-MGD raw water pump

station with a footprint the size of a football field. To meet the

challenges of designing a pump station of this magnitude, the

Freese and Nichols team used 3D modeling and visualization

software in new ways that produced exceptionally high-quality

plans. The team was immersed in the virtual design to conduct

higher quality reviews and expand their construction and O&M

understanding. The final design will provide redundancy, reduce

power system losses and directly reduce the annual cost to

deliver water to the Leonard Water Treatment Plant.

B o i s d ’A r c L a k e R a w W a t e r P u m p S t a t i o n / N o r t h T e x a s M u n i c i p a l W a t e r D i s t r i c t

HOW TO PUMP 236 MILLIONGALLONS PER DAY

Amanda Powers, PE, ENV SP, is a Transmission and Utilities Engineer in Dallas.

Sam Meisner, PE, is a Transmission and Utilities Engineer in Dallas.

F e a t u r e d

Innovators

• Combined HVAC and motor cooling systems to provide greater reliability with less equipment, reducing the total electrical load on the building and simplifying the station cooling system.

• First in Texas to combine low-flow reservoir releases within the pump station facility to meet all downstream environmental requirements with reduced footprint, and capital and O&M costs.

• Station design included a 99% power factor correction, versus the typical 95% correction, resulting in significant life cycle savings.

• Custom-designed electrical cable vault and strategic routing system eliminate the need for an additional electrical room.



The City of Amarillo needed help prioritizing the efforts of the

Amarillo Drainage Utility to meet the community’s needs and

maximize the available funding. As a subconsultant, Freese

and Nichols developed and conducted a survey of Drainage

Utility customers, reviewed development standards and criteria,

recommended updates and prioritized the identified list of

capital improvement projects. Freese and Nichols established

objective criteria to help City staff prioritize projects based

on the overall goals of the Drainage Utility. By leveraging the

available data in GIS, the Amarillo Drainage Utility was able to

focus the available dollars on projects that meet the strategic

goals of the community and demonstrate a business case,

helping to build support among citizens and elected officials.

The City now has a fully functioning and up-to-date framework

to prioritize capital improvement projects according to the City’s

strategic vision. This framework allows the City of Amarillo

to better visualize where it should spend its money in its

stormwater program.

A m a r i l l o D r a i n a g e M a s t e r P l a n P r i o r i t i z a t i o n / C i t y o f A m a r i l l o

STREAMLINING FOR STORMWATER

Heather Keister, PE, CFM, is a Senior Project Manager in Lubbock.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

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• Using components of asset management, the team considered maintenance needs combining these projects with other planned projects to reduce redundant work.

• Considering resiliency, our team also surveyed street and structure flooding and flood complaints.



The Integrated Pipeline (IPL) program is a large complex

multiphase and multidecade project to expand water capacity

in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by an additional 350 MGD. The

goal of the $2.5 billion transmission system, jointly owned by

the Tarrant Regional Water District and the City of Dallas, is

a 100-year service life. Collectively, the system consists of

150 miles of pipeline, a 5-mile tunnel, six pump stations, one

balancing reservoir and ancillary facilities. Freese and Nichols

serves as the full-time construction management and resident

representative for the entire program, with team members

embedded in the owner’s project team from the program

management office to the inspector on the side of the trench.

Our program management team, working as an extension of

staff, developed a Project Management Information System

for use by all parties involved in the program, including design

firms and construction contractors. Communications, controls,

and cathodic protections systems were particularly challenging

since these systems must work together even though

constructed by different contractors. To provide for consistency

in these systems, Freese and Nichols provided design for

three reservoirs, a 2-mile experimental section of pipe and

the preliminary design for Section 16. Freese and Nichols was

one of the main engineering firms that developed the standard

details and specifications for the program, and the contract

documents for the program and TRWD.

I n t e g r a t e d P i p e l i n e / T a r r a n t R e g i o n a l W a t e r D i s t r i c t a n d C i t y o f D a l l a s

PMCM FOR A$2.5 BILLIONPIPELINE

Coy Veach, PE, CCM, is a Program Management Engineer and Construction Manager in Fort Worth.

Charlie Erwin, PE, CCM, is a Transmission and Utilities Engineer and Construction Manager in Fort Worth.

F e a t u r e d

Innovators

• It’s the first pipeline to be recognized by the Envision™ Sustainable Infrastructure Rating System, earning a Silver Award.

• The pipeline is designed to provide access for maintenance, condition assessment and nondestructive testing without being drained.

• Approximately 70% of trench-excavated materials suitable for reuse will remain on-site for Phase 1, reducing the carbon footprint associated with mining gravel and transporting materials.

• The pump stations feature energy and equipment monitoring well above industry norms, allowing the owners to adjust operations to maximize operational efficiency –power use and cost.

• The pipeline route was altered multiple times to avoid protected species, historical and archaeological sites and forested wetlands.



During the design process of replacing the electrical

transformers in Alkek Library at Texas State University, Freese

and Nichols’ structural engineers discovered that although the

concrete beams on the first floor could bear the weight of the

new equipment in its final resting locations, the suspended

slab could not hold the weight in transit. Our team designed a

temporary platform that consisted of using materials on hand,

reducing construction costs for the University. Freese and

Nichols’ electrical and structural design also helped reduce

construction cost by transporting the transformers through the

door frame without demolishing the wall. This was achieved by

temporarily removing the door frames, adding additional inches

to seamlessly move the equipment. Without the temporary

platform, the heavy load could have damaged or caused

excessive deformations, cracking, spalling and puncture of the

slab, damaging the air handling unit fans, coils, ductwork and

piping below. Overall, the team saved the University money and

minimized risk with the innovative traverse design.

A l k e k L i b r a r y R e n o v a t i o n s / T e x a s S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y

SAVING A LIBRARY’S SLAB

Misty Thomison, PE, LEED® Green Associate, ENV SP, is a Structural Engineer in Fort Worth.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

• The design used materials the contractor already had on hand: timber planks, steel beams and steel plates, saving material costs as well as transportation and delivery fees.



As temperatures rise in summer, so does water demand.

During summer 2018, the North Texas Municipal Water District

(NTMWD) experienced increased demands during retrofits of

the Wylie Water Treatment Plant. As temperatures hovered

around 100 degrees, NTMWD wanted to be sure they were able

to reliably treat and provide for the peak demands of their 1.8

million customers. To address this concern, Freese and Nichols

employed a Daily Demand Model to predict future demands

for the next week. The model uses a multilinear regression

equation that takes into account temperature, rainfall and other

key variables to predict future demand. The model successfully

predicted the trend of water use over a seven-day period,

providing NTMWD valuable information to make operational

decisions during constrained conditions at the water treatment

plant. The forecasts enabled NTMWD to efficiently bring the

water treatment plant back online without impacting their

customers. We have continued the effort into 2019.

D a i ly W a t e r D e m a n d M o d e l i n g / N o r t h T e x a s M u n i c i p a l W a t e r D i s t r i c t

FORECASTS FOR WATER ALONG WITH THE WEATHER

Jeremy Rice, LEED® Green Associate, is a Hydrologist in Fort Worth.

F e a t u r e d

Innovator

• The model enabled NTMWD to maintain service without interruption and avoid additional cost to expedite maintenance work unnecessarily.

• The original purpose of the model was to evaluate the savings from year-round watering restrictions.


Freese and Nichols, Inc. is a professional consulting firm serving clients across the southern United States. With continuous improvement and sustainability in mind, Freese and Nichols plans, designs and manages major water and infrastructure projects. We are the first engineering/architecture firm to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Learn more at www.freese.com.

MissionInnovative approaches Practical results Outstanding service

VisionBe the firm of choice for clients and employees

Read more Check out our blogs to learn about industry trends, resources and best practices:

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Printed to a high-level of environmentally responsible standards: Paper is certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship CouncilTM and is recycled with 10% post-consumer waste. Soy-based ink was used for printing.

FNI Water™Water resources and drought issues

Ebb and FlowStormwater and floodplain management

Onward and UpwardTransportation and urban planning

Insights & HindsightsCareer tips for young professionals

© 2019 Freese and Nichols, Inc.

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