Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., today announced that the agency has been selected to receive the 2017 CEAM Small Project of the Year Award for the proactive repair of the Southwest Transmission Main. CEAM is the acronym for County Engineers Association of Maryland. 

The Project of the Year Award is presented to the outstanding county project that demonstrates responsiveness to citizens’ needs, cost effectiveness, and innovative use of staff and funds. DPW won in the category of small project, less than $1,000,000.  Awards were also presented in the mid- and large-size project categories.

The Southwest Transmission Main (SWTM) is 54-inch (4.5-feet) main that serves as the primary conduit for water to the southwest portions of the City, Baltimore County, and portions of Howard County and Anne Arundel County. 

Director Chow created DPW’s Office of  Asset Management precisely to collect and utilize data to help stop problems before they happen.  The proactive repair of the Southwest Transmission main is a prime example of this success.  Pipe monitoring systems raised concerns of a failure and a potentially catastrophic water main break.  DPW and its partners from neighboring counties and private industry moved quickly to repair the main and prevent what could have been a disastrous water main break.

DPW will give a presentation on the project when it receives the award at the CEAM Fall conference on Thursday, September 21, in Ocean City.