A new life for aging water facilities infrastructure

Partnering to execute
CDWM’s water
infrastructure plan

This large, multi-year contract for Chicago Department of Water Management’s (CDWM) Capital Improvement Program focuses on the transmission and distribution of water facilities to achieve CDWM’s plan to replace approximately 40 miles of water main annually, based on a water main service life of 100 years. Beginning in 2023, all lead water services must be replaced from the water main to homes and businesses.

Client

Chicago Department
of Water Management

Solutions

Delivery

Total project value

Overseeing $870M+ in construction contracts

Consertus leads construction management

Consertus leads construction management

Consertus’ services include construction management for water main installation and restoration work for their Capital Improvement Program.

Our team is providing resident engineering services, including full-time inspection of the contract activities, to determine conformance with plans, specifications and all local and state codes, and rules and regulations to determine quantities of work completed for payment purposes.

The team is also responsible for office engineering and administration services required for water main construction—including interpretation of contract documents, coordination of submittals, review of submittals, preparation, and processing of payment requests, preparation and processing of change orders, maintenance of project files and documents, complete documentation of all construction work performed by the contractors in conformance with Illinois Department of Transportation documentation requirements—conducting routine project meetings, coordinating design changes and requests for information, and preparing a complete list of as-built drawings.

The Program Management team

Program Management:

Staff provide project scoping, scheduling, status reporting, community interface, and design consultant oversight.

Customer Services:

Staff arrange and coordinate public briefings, issue homeowner correspondence, schedule appointments with homeowners, and assist with communications and updates to elected officials.

Construction Management:

Staff coordinate with design consultants, review/process submittals, conduct field measurement appointments, oversee construction, provide construction inspections, and conduct punch-list inspections and closeouts.

Support Services and Contract Managers:

Establish and monitor program budgets, maintain program operations, manage assets, develop bid packages, provide construction contract coordination, make contract modifications, process payment estimates, and monitor compliance goals.

Continuous improvement and a big goal ahead

The biggest challenge the team has faced has been transitioning from a program driven by water main replacement to a program driven by Lead Service Line Replacements (LSLRs). Full LSLRs were not required until 2023. The team has excelled at implementing a system that focuses on the residents, as well as a constant prioritization of driving down costs.

Chicago has over 400,000 LSLs, which is the most in the nation. Moving forward, a continued focus will be made to increase the rate of replacements while allowing for substantial contributions from small and diverse construction contractors. Consertus has assembled a team of Outreach professionals that are dedicated to coordinating with the residents to create the least amount of construction impact while aligning residents’ expectations with the reality of the construction activities. Post-construction surveys are being analyzed for opportunities for continuous improvement in all stages of the process.