With over seven miles of pipe using an innovative vacuum technology built in an environmentally sensitive area, the new sanitary sewer system at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey is one of LAN Associates’ most unique and complex engineering projects. We are proud to announce that the barrier island conveyance system, which LAN completed alongside CP Engineers in June of 2024, has been recognized by the American Council of Engineering Companies, New Jersey (ACECNJ) with its Distinguished Award. This prestigious recognition was given to LAN Associates and CP Engineers as part of ACECNJ’s 54th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards.
Island Beach State Park offers a unique natural environment for the one million beachgoers who visit annually. With only a handful of structures in the 10-mile-long, 3,000-acre park, it is the largest reserve of undeveloped barrier island in New Jersey.
The few buildings located in the park include maintenance buildings, bath houses, state police barracks, and the official Governor’s Ocean Residence, which were all previously supported by individual septic systems. Since the septic systems were at the end of their expected useful life, LAN Associates was retained by the NJ Division of Property Management and Construction (DPMC) to provide a long-term sanitary sewerage conveyance system. LAN’s team worked alongside CP Engineers to design the nearly $20M, state-of-the-art project.
Due to the significant variation in daily and seasonal flows, a vacuum system was chosen over a traditional “force main” system. The final design includes over seven miles of buried pipe, two vacuum stations with emergency backup generators, dozens of lateral connections, valve pits, and more.
In addition to the challenging technical design, Island Beach State Park is a very ecologically sensitive area, requiring the team to obtain an extensive list of regulatory approvals and NJ Department of Environmental Protection land use permits. LAN’s land use and civil engineering teams worked with numerous state and local entities to obtain twelve individual permits and approvals to address concerns about the local wildlife and historic structures.
The successful design and construction of the new sanitary sewer system at Island Beach State Park stands as a testament to the value of collaboration. The challenges involved in designing, permitting, and construction not only required cooperation between many of LAN’s internal departments but a true partnership approach between LAN, the client, the system manufacturer, Airvac, the general contractor, George Harms Construction Company, and CP Engineers.
This year’s ACECNJ Engineering Excellence Award will be held on Wednesday, March 12th, 2025, at Foregate Country Club in Jamesburg, NJ. LAN will be in attendance to accept the distinguished award.
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