MSA has a long-standing relationship with the City of Duluth, facilitating upgrades of the city’s water utility systems for more than 40 years. Projects have included operations and needs assessments, water system modeling, SCADA system management, and the design and engineering of the majority of the community’s 53 wastewater pumping stations and five storage facilities.
MSA has also been facilitating the replacement of lead water service and regular water service lines for many years. This relationship led city leaders to select MSA to provide engineering services for the replacement of lead water services in the Gary neighborhood on the far southern end of the city. This project included the creation of plan sets as well as lead construction inspection and administration services.
In 2022, the city once broadened its contract with MSA, this time procuring engineering services for the design, construction administration and inspection for the replacement of lead service lines citywide. This project included resident communication, lead pipe inspection, data collection, and the design of plan sets utilizing GIS for the replacement of over 500 public and private-property service lines within the city’s 80-square-mile limits.
Completion of this extensive inventory and replacement plan allowed the City of Duluth to meet compliance with revisions to the U.S. EPA Lead and Copper Rule, which required communities to inventory, test, and make plans to replace sources of lead in all water systems nationwide by October 16, 2024.