Status of Design-Build in the US Water and Wastewater Sectors - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 23

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Status of Design-Build
in the US Water and
Wastewater Sectors
Christopher S. Frangione, Senior Director, Energy & Environment X PRIZE Foundation,
former staff for Water Design-Build Council
INTRODUCTION
Design-build is gaining traction as a delivery mechanism for water and wastewater proj-
ects as both owners and design-builders (i.e., practitioners) learn to use it for mutual
advantage. This chapter summarizes the status of the water and wastewater DB business
and describes future trends. The chapter also identifies ways to expand and improve the
use of DB.
RECENT GROWTH OF DESIGN-BUILD
AS A DELIVERY METHOD
The historical events and drivers for DB in the United States were presented in chapter 1,
but municipalities really began to experiment with DB for water and wastewater projects
in the 1990s. By the year 2000, the use of alternative delivery was growing at an average
annual rate of approximately 10 percent (Farkas Berkowitz & Company 2008). Although
comprehensive statistics for water DB are lacking, industry professionals agree that the
growth of DB has outpaced the growth of traditional project delivery between 1995 and
2009.
The steady growth of DB was disrupted by the recession of 2008/2009, which also
slowed the growth of the overall municipal water and wastewater design and construction
business. As the recovery from the recession progresses, it is believed that DB will con-
tinue to be implemented because of the benefits that owners are experiencing with this
delivery method.
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