Chicago, Illinois, Oct. 15, 2009 – MWH, the global wet infrastructure sector leader and provider of environmental engineering, construction and strategic consulting services announced today the organization has received two awards from the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Catherine Hurley was honored as the Young Civil Engineer of the Year and the City of Evanston Combined Sewer Relief Program received the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award for projects with a cost of more than $5 million.
Catherine Hurley has worked as a civil engineer with MWH since 2003, focusing on water and wastewater projects. She quickly became known around the company as a key technical resource for water and wastewater modeling after her participation in the development of successful hydraulic models for the cities including Rockford and Evanston, Ill., and Milwaukee, Wis. She most recently expanding that expertise to lead the technical team responsible for the detailed analysis, development and application of a city-wide hydrologic and hydraulic mode of the City of Chicago’s combined sewer system for Chicago Department of Water Management. In the last year, Hurley led MWH’s efforts related to the successful creation and implementation of an innovative Water Conservation and Protection Program for the DuPage Water Commission, a regional water agency responsible for supplying Lake Michigan water to nearly 750,000 residents in DuPage County.
Beyond her professional achievements, Hurley was instrumental in the global expansion of MWH’s Young Professionals Group, fostering the program in the Chicago office to focus on developing and advocating for young professionals within the company, changing the way young professionals at MWH network with their peers and develop their careers.
Hurley received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Dayton in 2003 and obtained her professional engineer registration in Illinois in 2007. The Young Civil Engineer of the Year recognizes early professional accomplishments and unique contributions to the civil engineering profession and community.
The City of Evanston Combined Sewer Relief Program was developed by MWH in 1981 to address the flooding problems of a 100-year-old combined sewer system serving 75,000 people. Working closely with the City of Evanston, MWH designed and managed construction of a total of 30 individual projects required to improve system performance and to solve the recurring sewer problems. The innovative program has effectively eliminated frequent and widespread basement flooding, improving the overall public health of the community.
The cost-effective plan used an innovative concept involving Partial Sewer Separation with Overland Street Flow to meet system performance goals while limiting the length and cost of new sewer construction and disruption associated with construction activities. The 22-year project was completed in May 2009 at a total cost of $210 million, approximately 60 percent of previously proposed solutions. The Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award is awarded to projects that exhibit the greatest engineering skills and represents the greatest contribution to civil engineering progress and mankind.
“We are honored to have both our people and project expertise recognized by the Illinois Section of ASCE,” says Joe Johnson, MWH Vice President. “Our organization’s mission is Building a Better World and we believe that the success of the Evanston Combined Sewer Relief Program and Catherin’s accomplishments are evidence of our commitment to this mission. We are happy to see these efforts recognized close to home.”
