General Consulting Services in Utilities
With over 34 years of experience in south Florida allows Tobon Engineering to respond, assist and facilitate the needs of government clients regardless of the unique issues faced by the water and wastewater utilities.
As a member of the executive team at Palm Beach County Water Utilities Mr. Tobon was involved with complex water and wastewater utility issues such as large user agreement, regulatory compliance, grant applications, bond financing, performance management, and employee hiring.
Americana Village Water and Wastewater System EOR
Presently Tobon Engineering is the Engineer of Record for all component of the water and wastewater system serving Americana Village in Miami-Dade County. A key responsibility is the interaction and submission of all permits relating to the 0.20 MGD wastewater treatment plant. Recently Tobon Engineering was able to successful acquire a 5 year operating permit for the treatment plant from Miami-Dade DERM.
Royal Utility Company Engineering Services
Royal Utility Company provided (sold in 2020) water and sewer service to 4,300 Coral Springs residents consisting of single family, multi-family units as well as two large commercial developments. Royal Utility’s 0.5 square mile service area was essentially the “hole in the doughnut” within the City’s service area. Tobon Engineering served as the utility and engineer of record for all matters relating to the operation and management of the utility. Royal Utility infrastructure consisted of a water treatment plant, wells, distribution system and wastewater pump stations. He regularly interfaced with the City of Coral Springs, Broward County Health Department and Broward County Water and Wastewater Services on operational issues of the utility.
As the Engineer of Record for the utility Tobon Engineering was involved with various operational issues and projects such as:
- Representing the utility for issues relating to permitting and compliance
- Hydraulic modeling
- Lead and Copper Rule compliance
- Backflow and cross connection compliance
- Review of new developments for adherence to standards
- Construction inspection
- Sanitary sewer surveys
- Capital projects including rehabilitation of water treatment equipment and structures
- Liaison with the City of Coral Springs and Broward County in all matters including large user agreements
Broward Reclaimed Watermain Design and Constructability Review
Broward County Water and Wastewater Services is expanding the reclaimed water system. The Reclaimed Water Transmission Main project is an important part of this expansion goal. The reclaimed water main will convey reclaimed water from Broward County’s North Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant to two large users: Palm Beach County and North Springs Improvement District. The agreement between Broward County and Palm Beach County is to provide a minimum pressure of 45 PSI with an initial flow of 2 MGD and an ultimate flow of 10.51 MGD of reclaimed water. Along the route, there are potential connection points to various cities, schools, parks, and communities. The potential users include the City of Deerfield Beach, the City of Coconut Creek, the City of Parkland, and Quiet Waters Park.
The total length of the reclaimed water main route is approximately 11 miles. During the design process Tobon Engineering as a subconsultant was involved as a technical reviewer for the design which included many important and unique design issues, including existing conditions, restoration, maintenance of traffic, stray current, conflicts, soil conditions, dewatering, utility adjustments, and schedule restrictions. The Broward County Standards were followed as much as possible. However, due to the unique nature of this large diameter (24 and 48 Inch) pipe project, the engineer-of-record proposed other industry standards not currently covered. Tobon Engineering assisted, recommended, and developed additional standards unique to this project
Farrington Highway 24-Inch Water Main Rehabilitation Project Feasibility Study
Tobon Engineering served as technical advisor for initial review of the draft report to rehabilitate and/or replace an existing, inactive 24-inch and 30-inch transmission main along the Waianae Coast (Oahu, Hawaii) with a minimum 24-inch and 16-inch diameter water main. The purpose of the project is to provide a redundant transmission main for water service reliability to the Waianae Coast .
This feasibility study evaluated pipe rehabilitation and replacement alternatives for 32,000 linear feet of inactive 24-inch and 30-inch mains and to provide a clear understanding of: (1) the rehabilitation/installation methods and pipe material alternatives available for the project, and (2) the construction method(s) that provide the best cost-benefit to the client. Mr. Tobon’s reviewed focused on the following sections of the analysis:
- Desktop assessment to determine the probable condition of the inactive transmission lines.
- Description and analysis of different rehabilitation/installation methods.
- Opinion of probable costs for rehabilitation/installation methods.
- Recommendation on the preferred alternative.
- General layout plan and pre-concept drawings.
City of Lake Worth Beach– Lake Osborne Estates Water Main Replacement Phase 1 Design Review
Tobon Engineering served as design reviewer for the replacement of the water distribution within the Lake Osborne Estates area in Lake Worth Beach. The goal of the design review was to mitigate risk and promote a quality design product. As a subconsultant Mr. Tobon and Mr. Galicki performed a comprehensive 30,60 and 90 percent review of the bid documents to ensure minimal potential for change orders. The review of the design was based on City of Lake Worth Beach design standards and best industry practices, more importantly the over 50 years of water engineering experience of the two reviewers.
Seacoast Water Authority Emergency Response Plan Update
Tobon Engineering as a subconsultant updated the Seacoast Water Authority Emergency Response Plan (ERP) in order to create a more resilient water utility. The ERP serves as the prime document that allows the utility to plan, response and recover from natural and manmade disasters such as hurricanes, chemical leaks, wastewater overflows, droughts, cyber-attacks, and extreme rain events. Mr. Tobon was responsible for updating the ERP and expand its framework to allow the plan to be all encompassing and comprehensive. Additionally, he was responsible to create a new section dealing with pandemic response of the water utility due to the Covid-19 impacts. From this project Mr. Tobon recently completed and presented an online webinar on Pandemic Response as Part of Emergency Planning for Water Utilities.
Climate Resilient Water Utility Training and Development
Subconsultants to AECOM International as part of the USAID BeSecure project in the Philippines. The assignment for Mr. Tobon included working with six water utilities in the Philippines on climate change vulnerability assessments, sustainable climate resilient business plans and the development of associated emergency response plans. Based on these efforts he was able to recommend adjustments to procurement laws and proposed legislation. The main objective of the project was to strengthen the capacity of the water districts to help build climate resilience through improved business planning process and enhanced operational systems in the context of present climate variability, extreme weather events and uncertain climate futures.
Project Highlights and Accomplishments:
- Lead and mentored six water districts in creating Climate Vulnerability Assessments and Climate Resilient Business Plans
- Workshop facilitator for subjects; climate change and adaptation, vulnerability assessments, business planning and emergency response plans
- Invited to speak at various climate and water utility related conferences in the Philippines during the past 5 years.
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