• Project Data

Since its formation in 1984, Wharton-Smith, Inc. has completed more than 350 contracts worth more than $325 million in the state of Florida. Approximately 250 of those jobs were in Central Florida where, in addition to the company's Lake Monroe headquarters, Wharton-Smith maintains offices in Tampa and Jupiter. Roughly 40 percent of the contractor's work is on commercial and industrial projects, and about 55 percent is on water and wastewater treatment projects. Wharton-Smith is currently working on two wastewater projects that are among the largest jobs in its 13-year history: a $20.5 million expansion and upgrade of the City of Naples Wastewater Treatment/Reclamation Facility and a $10.7 million project to build reuse improvements for Orange County's South Service Area. On both jobs, Wharton-Smith is installing large quantities of AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe and fittings -- approximately 2,410 tons for the Orange County job and some 641 tons for the project in Naples. The Naples job consists of the expansion and upgrade of the city's Wastewater Treatment/ Reclamation Facility. It required construction and replacement of essentially the entire existing current capacity of 8.5 MGD tertiary treatment to a new 10 MGD tertiary treatment capacity. In addition to expanding capacity, the sludge disposal process is being upgraded to a sludge pasteurization system. The total project required 9,400 cubic yards of concrete and 23,000 feet of process piping. The site is surrounded on three sides by the Gordon River, and much of the underground work took place below sea level. "This was a major rework of an existing facility,"said Lawrence Perry, Wharton-Smith's project manager. "We had to keep the plant running while we made the modifications, so it was a matter of 'shutting this down and tying into that'as we went along." "The job bid ductile iron vs. prestressed concrete and we chose ductile iron because of its flexibility,"Perry said. "The actual conditions we found underground weren't always what the as-built drawings showed. But we could use a Flex-Ring® here, cut a piece there and modify it." Through the first four months of the project, Wharton-Smith placed at least a half-dozen special orders with AMERICAN after encountering piping that was different from what drawings indicated. "Every time, if AMERICAN didn't have what we needed in stock, they had it made and delivered to us,"Perry said. "They understood that this was work on an existing plant, and that we needed the materials right away." Perry notes that ductile iron pipe was the only kind of material suitable for this particular project. "Laying concrete would have taken too long because of the amount of de-watering to be done,"he said. "Ductile iron pipe either bolts or pushes together. We didn't have the time it takes to lay concrete in these conditions." The South Service Area Reuse Improvements project consists of the construction of reclaimed water storage, pumping, and distribution facilities for Florida's Orange County. This includes two 5-million gallon, prestressed concrete ground storage tanks with 42-inch AMERICAN Ductile Iron interconnect piping. Overall, the job will require approximately seven miles of AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe, ranging in diameter from 12 inches to 42 inches. It also includes two booster pump stations that will supply reclaimed water to two area golf courses -- Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Orange Tree Country Club. According to Project Manager Jeff Ramsdell, "The specs for this job allowed the use of welded-steel pipe, but our preference was AMERICAN Ductile Iron, partially because of the ease of installation. The majority of the pipeline has restrained joints, so we're using a lot of Flex-Ring® and Lok-Ring®." The Orange County project requires 11 jack-and-bores of various sizes, including a 54-inch diameter, 700-foot bore under the six lanes of Interstate 4 which goes through Orlando. "This project went through a lot of busy areas, including International Drive, and that presented some significant challenges with the installation,"Ramsdell said. "The AMERICAN products worked well."	Workers install a 42-inch aeration effluent pipeline on the Naples project, a $20.5 million job to expand and upgrade the city's Wastewater and Reclamation Facility.
	Outside the Wharton-Smith headquarters in Lake Monroe, Florida, are from left: George Smith, president; Brian Kuhnle, senior vice president/ administration; Jeff Ramsdell, project manager; Clyde Burgess, senior project manager; Ray Flannagan, senior vice president/ regional manager; and Ron Davoli, senior vice president/operations.
	The flexibility of AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe can be seen here, where a 24-inch connection has been made to an existing 36-inch ground storage tank influent line on the Naples project.

Owner:	Orange County, Florida
Engineer:	Boyle Engineering Corporation, Orlando, Florida
Service:	South Service Area Reuse Improvements, which entailed construction of reclaimed water storage, pumping, and distribution facilities
Piping:	Approximately seven miles (2,410 tons) of AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe and fittings; Part 1 included 397 tons of 4"-42"Fastite®, Flex-Ring®, and Lok-Ring® yard pipe and fittings and 4"-42"flanged pipe and fittings; Part 2 consisted of 2,013 tons of AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe and fittings with approximately 32,000 feet of 12"-36"Fastite® pipe. Part 2 also included a total of 115 Fast-Grip® gaskets in 6"-24"diameters and 915 Flex-Ring® joints in 30"-36"diameters. In all, Part 2 required 88 tons of 4"-36"fittings.
Sales Engineer:	Danny Swalley
Customer Service Representative:	Traci Wilson
Owner:	The City of Naples, Florida
Engineer:	Hole, Montes & Associates, Inc., Naples, Florida
Service:	Wastewater Treatment/Reclamation Facility Expansion and Upgrade
Piping:	Approximately 640 tons of AMERICAN pipe and fittings, including 435 tons of Fastite®, Flex-Ring®, and Lok-Ring® in 4"-42"diameters; 205 tons of mechanical joint, Lok-Ring®, and flanged fittings.
Sales Engineer:	Scott Fergerson
Customer Service Representative:	Cathy Whitten