City of Columbus, Division of Water CIP

Location Columbus, OH

Client City of Columbus

Services Construction Management

Project Value $130 Million

Hill is providing construction management services in support of a capital improvement program (CIP) for the City of Columbus’ Department of Public Utilities, Division of Water. In 2019, the Division of Water delivered more than 50.6 billion gallons of drinking water, an average of 138.5 million gallons daily, to the more than 1.2 million residents of the Greater Columbus Area. To continue meeting the demand for safe, clean water, the Division embarked on an ongoing program to improve and expand their facilities. The Division expects the program to include more than 25 individual projects totaling more than $130 million. These projects include water treatment plant upgrades, reservoir repairs and improvements, hydroelectric dam improvements, well pump replacements, security improvements, and miscellaneous facilities modifications. 

Hill leads a team of local and national professional construction management professionals to support the program. The team is currently on their second, multi-year contract to assist the Division with such services as project controls, cost estimating, document controls, design guidelines, and verifying adherence to technical specifications and additions to the City’s construction manual. The team’s support also comprises quality and risk management, health and safety planning, invoicing and reporting, meeting coordination, permitting, outage coordination, bidding services, change order management, field representation, field testing, and commissioning and close-out. Currently, the Hill team is supporting nine projects with another eight slated to begin work over the course of the contract. 

Hill’s services include scheduling, budgeting, cost estimating, and document management while confirming adherence to City standards and procedures, design guidelines, technical specifications, and the City’s construction manual. The team’s support also comprises quality and risk management, health and safety planning, invoicing and reporting, meeting coordination, permitting, outage coordination, bidding services, change order management, field representation, field testing, and commissioning and close-out.

Hill’s support for the program has provided the City with a new perspective on how to best manage their projects. For example, the Division now includes CM support for every construction project they undertake as a part of their capital improvement program, not just the larger investments. This provides opportunities to capture and codify lessons learned across the entire program, offers greater cost confidence, and adds a layer of site safety support.