SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Feb. 4, 2026) – Kleinfelder, Inc. (“Kleinfelder”) announced that the Vallecitos Water District (District) Meadowlark Water Reclamation Facility Tertiary Disinfection Plant Upgrade Project has been recognized with an Engineering Achievement Award by the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) San Diego Section.
This honor acknowledges the Owner’s strategic project delivery approach. The Owner’s approach enabled concurrent construction and commissioning of two major capital improvement efforts—the chlorine contact tank expansion (Kleinfelder’s project) and a second project, designed by others, to convert gaseous chlorine to sodium hypochlorite disinfection. Collaborating closely, the Kleinfelder team worked with the District and other consultants to integrate these improvements and reduce construction impacts, improve operational efficiency, and enhance safety. These efforts delivered measurable cost and schedule benefits to the District.
Kleinfelder provided multidisciplinary water and infrastructure engineering design services for the chlorine contact tank, including computational fluid dynamics analysis, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, electrical and controls engineering, hydraulic modeling, and process design to optimize disinfection performance. The improvements increased tertiary treatment capacity from 5.0 to 6.5 million gallons per day, supporting California Title 22 regulatory compliance and long‑term recycled water reliability.
“This project has us modifying an aging, complex structure built almost 40 years ago. We focused on reducing risk during construction and long-term operations by engineering the structural modifications in a way that limited changes to plant operations and minimized changes to the existing structure,” said Kleinfelder Project Manager Nick Fontaine, PE. “Our team’s comprehensive, innovative design, structural and geotechnical engineering reduced risk while helping with construction phasing. This multi-disciplinary approach created the opportunity for the District to concurrently construct the chlorine contact tanks and the disinfection project.”
This recognition reflects Kleinfelder’s continued focus on practical engineering solutions, collaborative delivery, and client‑driven outcomes across water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
