INDUSTRY · WASTEWATER & WATER · 600 MI FIELD RADIUS
Wastewater Treatment Structural and Mechanical Work
Tanks, structures, walkways, and process equipment at a plant that has never once been allowed to stop.
Miller 3 Engineering performs water tank rehabilitation and structural modifications, guardrail and access improvements, field welding and elevated structural work, process piping, and equipment installation at operating treatment facilities.
Everything at a treatment plant is corroding, and nothing can be taken out of service
Flow does not pause. A treatment facility has no seasonal shutdown, no holiday week, no slow quarter. Whatever needs to be repaired, replaced, or added has to happen around a process that runs continuously, usually with redundancy that was designed for equipment failure rather than for construction.
At the same time, the environment is working against the steel. Moisture, chemistry, and hydrogen sulfide take apart handrail, grating, ladders, tank shells, and support structures on a schedule of their own. Access platforms that were fine at inspection five years ago now have sections an operator walks around instead of across. Tank interiors and splash zones lose section thickness where nobody looks.
The full detail
Then the capital projects land on top of that. A new blower, a new screen, a new chemical feed system, a new pump. Each one arrives with an install manual that assumes a clean pad, adequate utilities, and a crane path, and each one has to be integrated into a structure and a process that predates it.
The usual result is a plant that runs three parallel programs: deferred structural repair, ongoing corrosion, and capital equipment that is waiting on someone to own the installation scope. Each one is quoted by a different contractor, and none of them talks to the other two.
Structures rated for the environment, access an operator will actually use, and equipment that got installed instead of stored
Tank shells and structural elements are assessed, repaired, and modified with the corroded sections addressed rather than painted over. Field welding and elevated structural modification are performed by crews who work at height as normal practice.
Walkways, platforms, ladders, and handrail are replaced with steel specified for the environment it lives in, at geometry that meets current requirements rather than the requirements in force when the plant was built. Access improvements go where operators actually walk, so rounds get done rather than shortened.
The full detail
Process piping is routed, supported, and labeled. Equipment is set on engineered supports, anchored to spec, aligned, connected, and commissioned. The whole thing was sequenced around a process that could not stop, using redundancy windows, off-hours, and prefabrication instead of a shutdown that was never going to be granted.
And it came from one company: structural, fabrication, rigging, mechanical, and utility scope on one contract, with one schedule and one safety orientation.
Fabricate in the shop, sequence around the process, self-perform in the field
Practical, field-driven solutions when conditions differ from drawings.
At a plant this old, conditions always differ from drawings. That line is the operating principle of this work, not a slogan.
The full detail
Prefabrication is the main tool. Steel welded in our Rancho Cordova shop is steel not welded over a basin, which is safer, faster, and far less disruptive. We measure in the field, fabricate to those measurements, and set with our own rigging crews inside 600 miles of Sacramento.
Sequencing is the second tool. The plan is built around your redundancy windows and your operating constraints: what can be taken out of service, for how long, and in what order. Off-hours and weekend work is normal.
Engineering is the third. Engineers on staff design, draft, and stamp structures and pull permits where the jurisdiction requires it, so a structural modification to a tank or a new elevated platform arrives with a design behind it rather than a field decision.
Accountable. Organized. Safety-driven. Field-experienced.
What we handle at water and wastewater facilities
| Scope | Typical work |
|---|---|
| Water tank rehabilitation | Structural assessment support, repair, and modification of tank structures |
| Tank railing and access improvements | Guardrail, handrail, walkways, ladders, and platform replacement or addition |
| Field welding and elevated structural modification | Repair and modification work performed at height on existing structures |
| Structural steel fabrication and erection | Platforms, catwalks, supports, pipe racks, stairs, and access systems |
| Process utility piping | Process lines, industrial plumbing, supports, and secondary containment |
| Air and environmental systems | Odor and exhaust handling, ductwork, fans, collectors, make-up air |
| Equipment installation and integration | Blowers, pumps, screens, conveyance, and package systems |
| Rigging and equipment setting | Receive, offload, stage, place, set, anchor, align. Fully in house |
| Equipment and utility enclosures | Process separation, equipment shelters, manufacturing support structures |
| Full EPC delivery | Engineering through commissioning and startup, within 300 miles |
Structural steel fabrication and erection · Utility tie-ins and process piping
What we plan around at an operating treatment plant
- No shutdown. The sequence is built around redundancy windows and operating constraints, not around what would be convenient for the crew.
- Corrosive environment. Material and coating selection are decided against the actual exposure: submerged, splash zone, vapor space, or atmospheric.
- Work at height and over water. Elevated structural modification and field welding above basins and tanks are a normal part of this work, with fall protection planned as part of the method.
- Confined space and permit-required entry. Scope inside tanks, wet wells, and vaults gets planned with the facility's own permit program, not around it.
- Existing drawings that stopped being accurate. Field measurement drives fabrication. We build to what is there.
- Access that operators will actually use. Guardrail and walkway geometry that meets requirements and puts the route where the rounds go.
- Fixed ladders over 20 ft. In California, Cal/OSHA 8 CCR §3277(g)(2) puts fixed ladders over 20 feet in scope, stricter than the federal 24-foot trigger under 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(9). Replacing any ladder section obligates that section to the current standard today. Treatment plants have more of these than almost any other facility type. See OSHA 1910.28(b)(9) ladder retrofits.
- Public agency process. Procurement, submittals, inspection, and documentation requirements that a private plant does not have.
Budget pricing on access and fall protection
Railing and ladder work is the most commonly deferred scope at treatment plants, usually because nobody has a number. These are published 2026 Northern California ranges, fabrication only. Installation is quoted after a site visit and field review.
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| 42-inch OSHA guardrail | $165–$225 per linear foot |
| Standard steel handrail, 2-line | $140–$185 per linear foot |
| ADA rail | $180–$240 per linear foot |
| Fixed ladder, 20–30 ft | $3,500–$7,500 |
| Steel framed roof access hatch | $3,500–$8,000 |
Budget pricing · 2026 Northern California · Not a quote — Fabrication only. Installation available after site visit and field review.
Coverage for water and wastewater facilities
| Scope | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Installation, field services, and rigging | 600 miles from Sacramento |
| Preventative maintenance programs | 300 miles from Sacramento |
| Full EPC delivery | 300 miles from Sacramento |
| Engineering and design | Nationwide |
| Fabrication and shipping | Nationwide |
Divisions
Related services
Structural Steel Fabrication and Erection
Structural and miscellaneous steel fabrication in Rancho Cordova. Platforms, mezzanines, supports, and access systems. Engineers on staff who stamp.
Utility Tie-Ins and Process Piping
Process utility piping, industrial plumbing, secondary containment, air and environmental systems. Bundled with a project or contracted standalone.
Industrial Equipment Installation and Integration
Industrial equipment installation inside live plants. Structural supports, rigging, utility tie-ins, and commissioning support. 600 miles from Sacramento.
Portfolio
Related project work
Coverage
- 600 mi
- Field services, installation, fabrication delivery, and rigging from Sacramento
- 300 mi
- Full EPC delivery and preventative-maintenance programs
- Nationwide
- Engineering, design, and fabrication for shipment
Common questions
Can you work on a tank or structure without taking it out of service?
Often, and where a full outage is unavoidable we work to make it as short as possible. The method is prefabrication plus sequencing: we field measure, build components in our Rancho Cordova shop, and install in the window your redundancy allows, including off-hours and weekends. Where the work is genuinely inside the asset, we plan it against your permit-required entry program rather than around it.
Do you replace corroded handrail and walkways, or only fabricate new?
Both, and replacement is the larger share of this work. Existing railing, grating, ladders, and platforms get field measured, fabricated to those measurements, and swapped in section by section so the route stays usable. Published budget ranges for standard railing and ladder items are on our 2026 budget price guide, fabrication only, with installation quoted after a field review.
At what height do our fixed ladders need fall protection?
In California, above 20 feet. Cal/OSHA 8 CCR §3277(g)(2) requires cages or wells on fixed ladders of more than 20 feet, which is stricter than the federal 24-foot trigger under 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(9). Separately, replacing any ladder section obligates that section to a fall arrest or ladder safety system at that time. Treatment facilities typically own a lot of these: tank ladders, digester ladders, structure access, and roof access. We fabricate and install custom fall-arrest systems for existing ladders, and we build new fitted fixed ladders with approved fall-arrest systems. See fixed ladder fall protection and the California 20-foot trigger for the full path.
Do you do the process piping as well as the steel?
Yes. Process utility piping systems, industrial plumbing services, and secondary containment are a defined division, available bundled with a project or standalone. Air and environmental systems, process utility systems, material handling, process equipment integration, and containment and safety systems sit in the same division. Buying steel and piping from one company removes the interface where most schedule loss happens.
Can you install new treatment equipment, not just repair structures?
Yes. Equipment installation and integration inside live operating facilities is our core service, including precision setting, anchoring, and alignment, fabrication of custom supports, utility coordination and installation, and commissioning support with punch-list closeout. Rigging is fully in house within 600 miles. See equipment installation and integration.
Will you take a whole project, engineering through startup?
Within 300 miles of Sacramento, yes, as full EPC delivery: engineering, procurement, construction, project management, and commissioning and startup support with a single point of responsibility for the entire project lifecycle. Beyond 300 miles the same scopes are available individually, with installation and rigging out to 600 miles and design and fabrication nationwide.
Send photos of what is corroding and tell us what cannot be shut off
A walk-around photo set and your operating constraints will get you a more useful conversation than a scope narrative. If the work is at height or inside an asset, say so early, because that changes the method.