BRS Architects, as part of a design-build team with CDM Inc., was chosen to complete a new state-of-the-art membrane filtration surface water treatment plant to meet United Water Idaho’s anticipated future needs in Southeast Boise. The initial phase of this eleven acre project, completed in 2005, treats six million gallons of water per day with a planned expansion that will make the plant capable of treating up to twenty million gallons of water per day.

Challenges in the design process included; balancing security requirements of post 9/11 legislation regarding quasi-public utilities and the desire for an interpretive center and viewing rooms for students and the public, determining fire ratings for chemical storage rooms to ensure safe building materials, allaying safety concerns due to the proximity to commercial flight paths for the Boise Airport and blending in with the surrounding residentially zoned properties.