Parsons Corporation has been awarded a 2025 Honor Award in the Water and Wastewater category at the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) national Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for its work on the Deer Creek Sanitary Tunnel and Pump Station project in St. Louis County, Missouri.
The recognition underscores Parsons’ role as a key engineering partner for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) and highlights the project’s contribution to sustainable infrastructure development. It follows an earlier Grand Award win at the state level from ACEC Missouri.
“The Deer Creek Sanitary Tunnel and Pump Station project exemplifies our dedication to improving vital infrastructure that enhances environmental sustainability and safeguards communities,” said Mark Fialkowski, president, Infrastructure North America for Parsons. “By leveraging innovative engineering and design, we’ve helped create a resilient system that will manage stormwater effectively and protect the region’s water resources.”
Serving as the Deer Creek Watershed Consultant for MSD, Parsons delivered preliminary and final design, along with construction-phase services, for a complex infrastructure system that includes a tunnel, pump station, eight shafts, five diversion structures, and five hydraulic drop structures. A central feature of the project is the wet-weather sanitary storage facility, designed to reduce peak flow volumes, mitigate overloading in the Deer Creek Trunk sewer, and relieve pressure on the Lemay Wastewater Treatment Plant downstream.
Constructed 175 feet below ground in solid rock, the four-mile-long, 19-foot-diameter tunnel can store over 38 million gallons of wastewater during storm events. The system significantly enhances the region’s capacity to manage wet weather, limit sewer overflows, and protect water quality.
The Deer Creek Watershed spans approximately 24,000 acres and is supported by over 100 miles of sanitary and combined sewer systems. The awarded project forms part of MSD’s larger Capital Improvement Program.
Parsons brings decades of global infrastructure expertise to projects across transportation, water, and environmental sectors. Its portfolio includes over 10,000 miles of roadways, 4,500 bridges, and more than 50 deployments of advanced traffic management systems designed to improve urban mobility, reduce emissions, and promote safer, more efficient cities.
The national ACEC recognition further reinforces Parsons’ commitment to engineering resilient and sustainable infrastructure for communities worldwide.