Contact Helen Gordon

Ms. Gordon has over 27 years of civil engineering experience. She specializes in the planning, design, and construction management of water and wastewater engineering projects for municipalities. Her experience includes water system modeling for large- and small-scale public and private systems; designing water booster pumping stations and transmission and distribution mains; designing wastewater pumping stations, grinder pumps, force mains, and gravity sewers; developing conceptual designs of combined sewer overflow abatement facilities; conducting siting and hydraulic evaluations of force main through environmentally sensitive areas; designing wastewater treatment plant upgrades; and conducting infiltration/inflow and sewer system evaluation surveys for communities. Ms. Gordon has presented a number of papers at regional, national, and international conferences.

Why I Do What I Do
“I have been working with municipal clients for over 27 years specifically in the areas of potable water supply and distribution, wastewater treatment and collection, and stormwater management. The projects I have enjoyed most are the ones which bring all three together, balancing water use, disposal, and conveyance within a watershed. These projects are often complex due to the sometimes competing nature of regulatory drivers for water supply, wastewater treatment, and stormwater management. The ability to work with a community to address the everyday environmental issues through technical solutions in an economic way has been very rewarding for me.”

Why I Work at Woodard & Curran
“I have always been looking for a firm where I could connect professionally with my coworkers without barriers and be a part of a work community where I could make a difference for both my client and my coworkers. Woodard & Curran lets me do this. We build long-term relationships with clients and employees, creating an atmosphere of partnership. This company provides unending opportunities; all you have to do is be willing to do your part and seek out those opportunities.”

Project Highlights 

Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrades
North Attleboro, MA
North Attleboro needed to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility. Woodard & Curran worked with the town and the DEP to create a phased improvement program over a 6-year period to portion out the rate increases period and fund the improvements. DEP agreed to fund the project under the SRF program as a continuing project, removing the requirement to submit requests every year. This has allowed for reasonable rate increases and a successful upgrade at the plant to bring them into compliance with current and new permit requirements.

Middle Fort Pond Brook Wastewater Facility
Acton MA
Woodard & Curran helped the community effectively fund the complete construction and operation of a wastewater treatment plant and collection system for a portion of the community. The project was paid for only by the customers, not the town-wide general tax base, and was one of the first in Massachusetts to do this. We successfully teamed with the community to come up with a plan that worked for them. We designed, constructed, and now operate a wastewater treatment facility which removes nearly 100% of the contaminants from the water.

Infiltration/Inflow Program
Braintree MA 
Struggling to cope with infiltration/inflow issues that were causing significant sewer system overflows near the Fore River, Braintree entered into a Consent Order to address the problem. Woodard & Curran developed a public education program to publicize the issues, their causes, and the solution, which consisted of an innovative amnesty program for sump pump removal and dovetailing drainage improvements with the re-paving plan. Through these efforts, Woodard & Curran helped the Town eliminate nearly all of the overflow problems.