Water

De Soto Wastewater Treatment Facility

De Soto, Kansas

Progressive design-build
fast-tracks wastewater facility to support Panasonic Gigafactory.

Key Services

Construction

Self-Perform

Strategic Partnerships

Delivery Method

Design-Build (DB)

Capacity

2.6 MGD

The challenge

The City of De Soto, Kansas, faced an urgent need to expand its existing biological wastewater treatment facility following the announcement of a major economic development initiative — the construction of a new Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant. The Panasonic facility is expected to bring between 4,000 and 8,000 new jobs to the area, creating immediate and long-term demands on municipal infrastructure, particularly wastewater treatment capacity. The city needed a partner who could deliver this critical expansion on an accelerated schedule while meeting stringent requirements from both the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Governor’s office.

Key Facts

First progressive design-build project in De Soto

Self-performed excavation, concrete formwork and process pipe, equipment installation, and underground process pipe installation

Challenge met

CAS Constructors, as part of a joint venture with Burns & McDonnell, is delivering the project using a progressive design-build approach — a first for the City of De Soto. This delivery model enabled the team to reach 30% design in under five months, positioning the city to meet the aggressive schedule driven by Panasonic’s timeline.

The project is being executed in phases to ensure the facility can begin accepting wastewater from the Panasonic plant by summer 2024, with full completion of this expansion phase scheduled for May 2026. The design increases treatment capacity from 1.3 MGD to 2.6 MGD, with infrastructure in place to accommodate future growth. The upgrades also improve reliability and safety, while implementing a combined chemical-physical-biological treatment strategy to meet stringent nutrient removal standards for nitrogen and phosphorus. Through out the construction of this project CAS worked closely with the plant operations staff, coordinating construction efforts around existing infrastructure; minimizing any disruptions to the existing plant operations..

To meet early flow requirements, CAS expedited the design and construction of a new influent pump station, along with front-loaded electrical design to account for long lead procurement of critical components. This forward-thinking strategy ensures the City of De Soto can support not only the Panasonic plant’s startup but also the broader wave of commercial, industrial, and residential growth that the project will bring to the region.