PCL Construction is marking four decades of civil infrastructure work in Arizona as water supply pressures drive new investment in treatment, rehabilitation, reuse and resilience projects across the Southwest.
PCL established its Civil Division in Phoenix 40 years ago. Since then, Arizona has experienced major population growth while facing increasingly difficult water conditions. The region's prolonged dry period, declining water availability and tighter Colorado River allocations have increased the need for infrastructure capable of supporting reliable long-term water supplies.
PCL's Phoenix Civil team has worked on projects designed to maintain and strengthen water systems as conditions change.
The rehabilitation of Phoenix's 24th Street Water Treatment Plant was completed while maintaining uninterrupted water service for about 400,000 residents in northern Phoenix. Delivered through a Construction Manager at Risk model with Carollo Engineers, the project modernized an existing facility while addressing the need to keep critical infrastructure operating.
The project received the Arizona Water Association's 2026 Water Treatment Project of the Year recognition.
Another major effort, the Zone 3D and 4A Improvements Program, provides Phoenix with greater flexibility in moving water between its Salt River and Colorado River systems. The 76-million-gallon-per-day booster pump station allows the city to draw from different sources as water allocations change.
The project schedule was particularly important because the city needed the pump stations completed before additional Colorado River reductions took effect.
PCL's current water infrastructure work also reflects a shift toward larger and more flexible systems.
The Town of Gilbert's North Water Treatment Plant Upgrades and Reconstruction project represents a $536 million investment. Once completed in 2029, the facility is expected to increase treatment capacity to 60 million gallons per day and provide service for an additional 100,000 residents.
The project is designed to address changing water conditions, including higher turbidity associated with drought, heat and wildfire impacts.
Water reuse is another growing component of regional infrastructure planning. PCL broke ground in February 2025 on the $295 million El Paso Pure Water Center in Texas. The collaborative delivery project is designed to produce 10 million gallons of drinking water per day and is expected to become operational in 2028.
The facility is planned as the nation's first direct-to-distribution potable reuse facility, sending purified recycled water directly into a municipal drinking water system.
PCL's civil operations have expanded well beyond Arizona, with more than 100 active projects across the United States and more than 600 completed projects.
Recent work includes the Treasure Island Water Resource Recovery Facility in San Francisco, which is replacing aging infrastructure while supporting wastewater and recycled water needs, and the Bayshore Pumping Station Rehabilitation in Tampa, which addresses aging water and wastewater infrastructure while improving flood resilience.
PCL's four decades of work in Arizona demonstrate how water infrastructure investment can combine rehabilitation of existing assets with new treatment, pumping and reuse capacity. As communities face tighter water supplies and changing environmental conditions, projects that improve flexibility and extend infrastructure life are becoming increasingly important to regional growth and resilience.
Source: PCL.
