FPBA was hired to design the new 24,000-square-foot facility consisting of water quality testing laboratories, information systems deployment room, SCADA control room, emergency operations center and administrative offices. The building meets Immediate Occupancy Performance Standards for a Probable Earthquake, supporting the Coachella Valley Water District in providing domestic water, wastewater, recycled water, irrigation/drainage, regional storm water protection and groundwater management services to a population of 265,000 throughout the Coachella Valley, encompassing nearly 1,000 square miles that extends into Riverside, Imperial and San Diego Counties.
The design of the water quality testing laboratories aims to lean operations, increase sample turnaround, improve redundancy and resiliency, preserve reliability and deliver flexibility, efficiency and revolutionary critical support space for the benefit of the community at large. The control room receives SCADA data and alarms from all of CVWD’s facilities and is protected from external threats, while the emergency operations center serves as the main hub for CVWD in the event of an emergency and integrates technology to facilitate the receipt, posting and sharing of information.
Partnering with Swinerton Builders in a design-assist role, FPBA has worked diligently to manage the design to a budget of $13,600,000.
