Snyder Civil, an engineering/construction firm in Portland, Conn, led by Donald R. Snyder Jr., provides clean water solutions, safe communities, and sustainable infrastructure. With a combined civil engineering and construction division, they deliver turn-key projects, like the Dorwin Hill booster station in New Milford. Partnered with Able Tool and Equipment for equipment needs, Snyder continues to innovate and excel in the industry.
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With their Wacker Neuson dirt roller purchased from Able Tool and Equipment, (L-R) are Mike Archer of Snyder Civil Construction; Donald Snyder Jr. of Snyder Civil Engineering; and Marshall Benware of Able Tool and Equipment.
Snyder Civil, headquartered in Portland, Conn, is an engineering/construction firm that provides a full range of services from the initial planning and design to the successful construction completion since its founding in 2011.
Snyder prides itself on working with clients to provide clean water, create safe communities and build and maintain sustainable infrastructure. Under the leadership of Donald R. Snyder Jr., a licensed professional engineer, the company has a record of success overseeing all phases of civil engineering projects for municipalities, government and private sector clients. The company boasts years of experience in water distribution systems, water mains, water storage tanks, pump stations, dams and operation assistance.
Snyder Civil is essentially two companies under one roof: Snyder Civil Engineering for design and planning of projects as well as land surveying; and Snyder Civil Construction, under the direction of Mike Archer, who executes the construction phases of the projects that are designed and engineered by Snyder Civil Engineering.
Snyder and Archer have a long history together. According to Snyder, "Mike and I grew up together in Portland, Conn., attended and graduated high school together, after which I went on to attend Roger Williams University to obtain my Bachelor Degree of Science and Civil Engineering and Mike attended the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, to study construction management.
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"Upon graduation, Mike went to work for a Conn.-based heavy civil construction firm and I got a position in Fairfield County, Conn., working for a firm that specialized in water utilities. Over the years, we stayed in contact and maintained our relationship."
In 2011, Snyder went out on his own and started Snyder Civil Engineering, where he focused primarily on engineering and design work for water utilities, which includes water main pipelines, pump stations, tank work and water treatment plants. Over time, Snyder and Archer saw the logic in expanding Snyder Civil Engineering to include Snyder Civil Construction and have the ability to offer clients a turn-key operation that includes design, engineering, as well as construction and completion of a given project.
"There are a couple of different approaches that are taken," Snyder said. "One being the two companies partnering and preparing a design/build proposal where Snyder bids the project from start to finish. In other cases, Snyder Civil Engineering. performs the engineering and design of a project and puts it out to bid with the prospect of Snyder Civil Construction winning the bid to execute the project. Approximately 75 percent of the time, Snyder Civil Construction is able to win the construction phase bid."
Most of the work designed and built by Snyder is in Fairfield County, a prosperous and affluent area of Connecticut. However, the company does not exclusively work in Fairfield County; it has tackled projects all across the state.
Snyder believes that there is a definite benefit to the client when Snyder Civil Engineering and Snyder Civil Construction are working together to execute a project.
"When we work together, the customer benefits with cost and value," he said. "We can assure the customer that there will be high levels of quality control, cooperation and performance that may not necessarily be the case when the construction firm and the engineering firm are separate parties.
"We are also typically able to accelerate the construction schedule when our two teams are working together," he added. "As one firm prepares the drawings and the plans, they are able to review the design phase of the project with their construction team to assure the feasibility and cost of the project.
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"We know from experience that what a team of engineers designs cannot always be executed in the real world once the contractor starts the project. By working together with our construction team, Snyder Civil Engineering is able to avoid difficult challenges once a plan goes into the build phase. We can also work through some economical approaches to make design revisions that will deliver a more affordable project for the water utility."
Currently, Snyder Civil Engineering and Snyder Civil Construction are working together on the construction of the Dorwin Hill booster station in New Milford, Conn., a $1.6 million project. The purpose of the project is to supply municipal water to an area of New Milford, Conn., that previously had no municipal water access. Snyder Civil Engineering designed the water mains for the street area, in addition to designing the two booster stations that will make the water supply accessible.
The Dorwin Hill booster station is the final booster station and storage facility so that the water gets pumped to the new service area.
"New Milford has a main system that is referred to as the New Milford Main System," Snyder said. "That is the whole water system of the developed corridor of New Milford, which is essentially Route 7 as it flows along the Housatonic River. That system determines the base water level.
"The owner of the system is the Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut," he added. "They are the largest water utility in the state and the New Milford main system is interconnected with other larger systems, therefore there is a lot of redundancy. New Milford also has a lot of hills based on its topography. The elevation across the town can change by hundreds of feet.
"As a general rule of thumb, anytime you have more than 150 feet of elevation change, there is a need for a pumping station if you are going uphill or a pressure reducing facility if you are moving the water downhill. On this project, we have a need for four different tiers, which starts with the water level at the New Milford main system, which then feeds the Prospect Hill booster station. The Prospect Hill booster station involves an elevation gradient change, which then feeds the Dorwin Hill booster station. The Dorwin Hill booster station also involves another elevation change.
"In addition to water storage, the Dorwin Hill booster station is also feeding upper water levels at higher elevations. In total, the water from the main is being pushed about 300 feet."
When completed, water will be pumped into the booster station statically. The water then fills the tanks, which is then pumped out of the tanks, which provides enough pressure to push the water up the hill to the next level, Snyder said.
The mass excavation for this project is approximately 1,200 cu. yds. to balance the earth materials. There was an additional 1,100 cu. yds. of mass rock that had to be drilled and blasted. Approximately 600 linear ft. of 12-in. ductile piping for the suction and discharge mains and approximately 240 linear ft. of 12-in. HDPE drainage. There also is approximately 300 ft. of duct bank that is installed for communication and power supply and approximately an acre of topsoil and turf establishment for the completed site. There also will be approximately 75 tons of driveway paving.
According to Archer, "The biggest challenge we have run into in this particular job is rock. We knew there was rock here, but we did not know the magnitude of it. We got the site cleared and we were able to strip the overburden and actually start some layout and open up the site.
"The site was heavily wooded and had a significant slope, which complicated the excavation we needed to do to remove the rock," he added. "It was necessary to do some blasting and some hammer work to be able to manage the rock and ultimately, we brought in a jaw crusher and reduced the size of the rock to three-inch minus. We produced about 1,000 yards of three-inch minus material, which we ultimately used on site."
The structure being built on site is 20 by 38 and has a cast-in-place foundation. It will have masonry walls and a traditional truss framed roof. The exterior is covered with hardie plank siding and Azek composite lumber for the trim.
The two storage tanks that are going into this site are constructed of steel and each has a 15,000-gal. storage capacity. The tanks produce the pressure to push the water up hill.
Snyder Civil Construction currently has 14 employees, three who are on the administrative side and 11 employees that are trade workers. The trade employees are broken into three categories: mechanical crew, site and civil workers and a building crew. Snyder Civil Engineering has approximately 70 employees.
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Snyder Civil Construction owns its own fleet of equipment consisting of approximately 12 pieces, primarily Caterpillar, with the exception of compaction equipment, which is Wacker Neuson purchased from Able Tool and Equipment.
"We use Able Tool and Equipment for a lot of our compaction equipment and attachments," Archer said. "We consider them a key supplier. We also use them for specialized equipment such as pumps, generators, drill bits, cut-off saws and tooling, etc. In addition to our small hand compaction equipment, we purchased a Wacker Neuson RC50 dirt roller. We purchased a water trailer from Able Tool and Equipment, which we use more often than you would think."
When asked why Able Tool and Equipment, Archer said, "The biggest attraction is their customer service. Like Snyder Civil, they are a very nimble company. When you call them, the person you need picks up the phone or calls you back immediately and their people are highly trained and know exactly what they are doing.
"They know the equipment they sell, and they actually service the products themselves. You are talking directly to the person who can give you the answers and you do not have to navigate your way from two or three levels of employees to get what you need, and they almost always have what you need when you need it. I first started working with Derek [Bauer] at Able Tool and Equipment and his staff in 2011, and the experience was so good I made a commitment to stick with them.
"There are several things that Able Tool and Equipment brings to the table that make them a valuable partner," he added. "For instance, their ability to balance the tool and equipment. Many other vendors can provide the equipment that Able Tool and Equipment does, but no one else marries the tool and the equipment to meet the equipment as well as they do.
"They are bringing us real value, from the ownership to the field staff. They are true professionals. They study the site and the project and match us up with the applicable tools. They are certainly compaction equipment specialists with equipment that meets our full range of needs from a jumping jack to our Wacker Neuson dirt roller.
"We have also purchased Atlas Copco hammers to work on our Cat excavators. We purchased a broom to fit our Cat 908 loader, which we use to clean up the road at the end of each day. Able Tool and Equipment also helps us work the equation of ownership versus rental and which is more economic for us. They evaluate how much utilization we will have and steer us in the right direction. The equipment we receive from them is always well maintained, eliminating the concern over equipment failure. When emissions are an issue, Able Tool and Equipment has electric powered machines that are available to us. Many of our clients put a high value on being a good steward for the environment and Able Tool and Equipment gives us the equipment we need to satisfy our customers."
For more information, visit www.abletool.net and www.snydercivil.com. CEG
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