Our employee-owners joined more than 900 industry professionals from across Arizona to celebrate public works at the 2026 Arizona Chapter American Public Works Association (APWA) Statewide Conference. Highlights included:

We were a Platinum Sponsor, Public Agency Sponsor, and Prize Drawing Sponsor. We shared information about our project experience and services, and our booth hosted games and giveaways with fun swag and prizes.
Our City of Chandler Detroit Basin/Gazelle Meadows Park Storm System CMAR project won a Project of the Year Award! This project removed more than 250 homes from the floodplain and refreshed Gazelle Meadows Park into a safe, vibrant gathering place and a source of pride for the community.
Cody Nunez, Project Director, led a session called “Big Pipe, Big Problems: Managing Arizona’s Most Successful Large-Diameter Pipeline Rehabilitations.” He reviewed the more than 46 miles of large-diameter pipeline dewatering and rehabilitation completed by Achen-Gardner in Arizona in the past 10 years. Cody also described rehabilitation methods, Maintenance of Pipeline Operations (MOPO) processes, dewatering best-practices, confined space access, and more lessons-learned when planning for these types of projects.
Ken Kawamoto, Pre-Construction and Client Services Manager, and Cody Nunez, Project Director, led a session called “Adapting the SAVE International Value Methodology Concepts to Enhance Value Through Risk-Based Decision Making in CMAR Construction Projects.” They discussed practical ways Achen-Gardner adapts and applies the SAVE International Value Methodology and Value Enhancement Tools to identify and mitigate risks, manage costs, evaluate value engineering opportunities, and safely deliver wet utility and roadway infrastructure construction projects for public agencies in Arizona.