Construction fatality stuns HCWSA
Contractor killed during final phase of work on Walnut Creek Plant
(McDonough, GA – July 2, 2004) Henry County Water & Sewerage Authority (HCWSA) employees and contractors are working today with heavy hearts, following a fatality yesterday at the Walnut Creek Water Reclamation Facility (WRF).
Melvin Brown, 41, an employee with Crowder Construction, was killed on the job site shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, when a concrete stairwell fell on him during the final phases of construction near the digester of the new wastewater plant. Brown had worked on the Walnut Creek Project since it began two years ago, and he also had experience working on the Authority’s Indian Creek WRF prior to that. He had been with Crowder for approximately five years.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by this incident, and our hearts and prayers go out to his family,” says Lindy Farmer, general manager of the HCWSA. “Our mood is very somber and sorrowful as we continue to gather facts and work with the contractor and investigators to find out more about what happened.”
Farmer says that officials from the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) were on site shortly after the incident was reported and stayed through the evening to gather more information on the accident. Henry County Bureau of Police Services secured the area, while Henry County Fire and EMT personnel responded to oversee recovery of the body, he adds.
Crowder Construction, which was awarded the competitive bid to construct the Walnut Creek facility for the HCWSA nearly two years ago, has an impeccable safety record, says Farmer.
“Our consulting engineers at ARCADIS have praised their work, especially regarding safety,” he says. “I know they won’t even let me set foot on the site without a hard hat, and I always felt they went the extra step to make this (Walnut Creek Plant site) a safe working environment.”
The Walnut Creek WRF is one of the largest facilities among the master plan of capital improvements for the HCWSA, says John Dean, consulting engineer with ARCADIS.
The entire Walnut Creek project is a $26 million investment that encompasses construction of the 4 million gallon per day (MGD) wastewater treatment facility, an interceptor sewer line running through the heart of the county, as well as a Land Application System (LAS) for spraying up to 10 MGD of treated effluent on protected green space.
The plant is nearly complete and has but a few “punch out” type list items to finish, says Farmer. HCWSA wastewater operators have been undergoing training the past few weeks while running start-up testing of the facility. HCWSA operators, equipment manufacturers and engineering consultants are also passing the final inspections of the plant by the state Environmental Protection Division (EPD), awaiting the permit for operations sometime later this summer.
Media contact: Chris Wood
770-960-8494 (office)
770-757-1681 (cell)
