Safe, Clean, Reliable Water

In response to the rising water needs of its expanding population, the Lockwood Water and Sewer District engaged Morrison-Maierle to plan and design a major enhancement of its water treatment plant. Lockwood is a bedroom community near Billings experiencing rapid growth thanks to its more affordable housing options and a smaller-sized high school. Lockwood attracts many families who are increasingly priced out of Montana communities.

A crucial aspect of this project involved significantly increasing the plant’s capacity—sometimes doubling or tripling various treatment processes, including adding two clarifiers and filter trains (the most critical treatment processes), increasing the total number from two to four.

The plant’s operational capacity, or firm capacity, is calculated assuming the largest unit is out of service or down for maintenance. Therefore, when measured by firm capacity, LWSD previously only technically had one treatment train available to produce water. Now, with four treatment trains in place, the district has three working treatment trains even when one is out of service, increasing water reliability and reducing risk for the LWSD. This increased capacity means operators can easily take a treatment train offline if maintenance is needed, even during peak summer demands, which previously wouldn’t have been possible.