Category: Blog

Introduction In municipal water and wastewater treatment, the centrifugal pump is the workhorse of the hydraulic process. However, industry data suggests that nearly 40% of rotating equipment failures can be traced back to errors committed during installation and initial startup. For consulting engineers and plant superintendents, the phase between physical installation and operational turnover is […]

Activated Carbon Filtration: Removing Contaminants from Water Article Overview Article Type: Informational Primary Goal: Provide municipal engineers, wastewater treatment operators, plant designers, and equipment manufacturers with a technical, implementation-focused guide to activated carbon filtration covering mechanisms, contaminant scope, design calculations, operational practices, monitoring, regeneration and disposal options, vendor selection, and real-world performance data so they […]

Introduction In the complex hydraulics of a modern wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), the peristaltic pump—often referred to as a hose pump or tube pump—occupies a critical niche that centrifugal technologies cannot fill. While engineers are intimately familiar with pump curves for water transfer, the specification of positive displacement equipment for abrasive sludge or off-gassing chemicals […]

Introduction Hardness is the most common water quality complaint a utility receives and one of the few that customers can see for themselves, in scaled fixtures, shortened water heater life, and soap that will not lather. For the utility, the cost is not cosmetic: calcium and magnesium precipitate in distribution mains, boilers, heat exchangers, and […]

Introduction One of the costliest errors in municipal wastewater design is the mismatch between pump metallurgy and fluid characteristics. Engineers often default to 316 Stainless Steel for its “universal” corrosion resistance, only to witness premature failure due to abrasive scour in grit-heavy sludge applications. Conversely, specifying standard Grey Cast Iron for septic receiving stations can […]

INTRODUCTION Dewatering pumps are frequently the “set it and forget it” workhorses of municipal wastewater bypass operations, mining sites, and heavy construction projects. Unfortunately, this mindset often persists until a critical failure results in a flooded excavation, a permit violation for sanitary sewer overflow, or catastrophic downtime. A common misconception among junior engineers is that […]

Stormwater Treatment Systems: Managing Runoff Effectively Stormwater treatment is central to meeting MS4 permits, TMDLs, and growing urban flood risks while protecting receiving waters. This practical guide gives municipal engineers, operators, and manufacturers the selection, sizing, operation, and verification details you need, covering bioretention, permeable pavement, constructed wetlands, hydrodynamic separators, media filters, and hybrid approaches […]

Introduction One of the most persistent and costly misconceptions in municipal and industrial water treatment is viewing a wet well merely as a concrete holding tank. In reality, the wet well is a hydraulic structure that dictates the reliability of the pumping equipment. A meaningful share of premature pump failures—often attributed to defective manufacturing—are actually […]

INTRODUCTION The integration of Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) with non-clog wastewater pumps has become the standard for modern municipal lift stations and treatment plants. While VFDs offer significant benefits regarding energy efficiency, flow matching, and reduced mechanical stress during startup, they introduce complex thermal challenges that are often underestimated during the design phase. A critical […]

Centrifugal Pumps Clogging and Ragging: How to Reduce Blockages Introduction The modern wastewater stream has changed radically over the last two decades. The proliferation of non-dispersible synthetic fabrics — commonly marketed as flushable wipes — combined with water conservation measures that reduce transport velocities has created a difficult operating environment. For engineers involved in lift […]