Mark Thomas & Company

Mark Thomas Receives APWA Project of the Year Award in the Emergency/Disaster Preparedness Category

Mark Thomas & Company was recognized by the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) for its role in the Dayton Water Incident as the 2010 Project of the Year Award in the Emergency/Disaster Preparedness Category.  The Dayton Water Incident was the coordinated response to an industrial explosion/fire on May 29, 2009 in Salinas.  Runoff from the site resulted in hazardous materials flowing onto the nearby public street and into a storm drain that ultimately discharged into the Reclamation Ditch.  The Reclamation Ditch is a major waterway that collects farm runoff from the Salinas Valley and urban runoff from a significant portion of Salinas.  The effected stretch of the Reclamation Ditch was 4 miles long with approximately 5 million gallons of contaminated product (water and toxic materials).
Over the next 45 days the County of Monterey and City of Salinas operated a joint Emergency Operations Center to contain and abate the contaminated water from the Reclamation Ditch in Salinas.  MTCo was contacted at 3:00PM on Monday, June 1 to provide contract project management services.  MTCo staff was on site within 15 minutes and arranged for a site visit with specialty contractors and consultants the next morning at 7:00AM.  MTCo staff was responsible for various technical and management services for the project, including

  • Overseeing construction of a sheet pile barrier to prevent the contaminated water from flowing downstream of the last dam.
  • Coordinating with City O&M and Engineering staff for options to dispose of filtered water (Domestic sewer line, industrial sewer system, or back into the Rec Ditch)
  • Coordinating numerous water quality tests used for bench testing a mobile operation that ultimately filtered 10 million gallons.  The water quality tests were also used to inform and satisfy the various State and Federal agencies with permitting authority.
  • Monitoring the operation of the field filter system that operated around the clock for 28 days to ensure maximum production
  • Communicating the status of field operations to the Incident Commander in twice daily meetings

“Mark Thomas & Co staff was an integral part of the team and their guidance was essential to the successful completion of the incident” Bruce Welden, Incident Commander

Mark Thomas & Company Receives ASCE Region 9 Award

This $62 million project encompasses five miles of Route 99 from Route 4 to Hammer Lane in San Joaquin County.   The project’s purpose was to increase freeway capacity while improving safety and operations. Improvements included widening the freeway by two lanes, reconstructing four interchanges, incorporating five different types of structures, eleven retaining walls, and five sound walls. The design team and agencies worked closely together to guide the project through several challenges including a $20 million STIP funding delay, sensitive community impacts including an Indian burial site, right of way impacts to local businesses, incorporation of public art and the development of a utility undergrounding district.