Naval Air Station Whidbey Island held a ceremony to commemorate the beginning of a water distribution system replacement construction project throughout the installation, May 24.

The $10,815,000 design-build contract, dubbed military construction project 236, is being conducted in accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The project will be conducted in seven phases to minimize impact on base operations.

“We’re here to break ground today on what is going to be the largest demolition and detour project in the history of this base,” said Capt. Gerral David, NAS Whidbey Island commanding officer. “When it’s done we will have replaced a ton of critical infrastructure that’s going to last for decades. It’s going to make this base a better place for a long time to come and it’s going to make us all a lot happier by not having to respond to all the problems we have with our water distribution system.”

Over the course of the project a total of approximately 95,000 linear feet of existing asbestos cement water lines will be replaced with ductile iron water lines across the Ault Field portion of NAS Whidbey Island. The project’s anticipated completion date is in March of 2011.

“We look forward to a strong working relationship with the Navy project team. Through good communication and planning with a close eye on safety we can provide a quality project that we all can be proud of,” said Kelly Gregory, a partner of Bulltrack-Watts joint venture, the lead contractor on the project.

“This is absolutely a great day, thank you to our contract partners, thank you to the base for the opportunity to do this work and most importantly, this is $10.8 million that’s going out into the economy because that’s what the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is all about; employing folks and making critical investments in American infrastructure to keep people employed during tough economic times,” said Capt. Pat Rios, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest commanding officer.

“I’m) really excited about today and really excited about the work we’re going to do because I happen to be a water waste engineer and this a cool thing I’d love to be working on myself. We’re getting ready to move forward and I think this is a great project that is going to cement the future of this base.”

According to the ARRA website, their programs are designed to create new jobs and save existing ones, spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth, and foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.

“This is going to be a vital base for the Pacific theater for some time to come, therefore it is critical that we maintain its basic infrastructure,” said Rear Adm. James Symonds, commander, Navy Region Northwest. “It’s a great project not only because it’s an ARRA project, but it’s also a great partnership with the local community, and the partnership between NAS Whidbey Island and Oak Harber is the strongest partnership there is between a base and a town in the United States Navy. Best of luck, and let’s have a safe and expeditious project.”