Understanding primary secondary tertiary treatment is where permits, budgets, and operations collide for municipal plants. This article gives municipal engineers, licensed operators, and equipment manufacturers concise, practitioner-focused guidance: quantitative performance ranges, key design and control parameters, sizing rules of thumb, and the retrofit tradeoffs that actually determine project success. Expect actionable monitoring strategies, common failure […]
INTRODUCTION One of the most persistent errors in municipal and industrial fluid handling involves applying centrifugal pump logic to positive displacement equipment. Engineers often approach pump curves expecting a single line intersecting a system curve, but when faced with an Air-Operated Double Diaphragm (AODD) performance chart, they encounter a complex grid of air pressures, air […]
Introduction One of the most persistent and costly failures in municipal wastewater collection systems is not the mechanical failure of the pump itself, but the failure of the intake hydraulics. Engineers frequently specify high-efficiency, robust pumping equipment, only to place it into a geometry that guarantees reduced lifespan. A significant percentage of premature bearing failures, […]
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 complex hydraulic structure that dictates the reliability of the pumping equipment. A startling number of premature pump failures—often attributed to “defective manufacturing”—are […]
Introduction One of the most insidious threats to the longevity of large-scale pumping systems is the phenomenon of air entrainment caused by intake vortices. For municipal and industrial engineers, the challenge is compounded when geotechnical constraints force the use of deep, circular containment structures. Diaphragm Wet Well Design and Minimum Submergence to Prevent Vortexing is […]
Introduction One of the most frequent points of failure in municipal pumping infrastructure involves the misapplication of pump geometry to the wet well environment. While submersible non-clog pumps dominate small to medium sewage lift stations, engineers frequently turn to vertical turbine pumps (VTPs) for high-flow, high-head, or footprint-constrained applications. However, a staggering number of these […]
The authoritative technical resource for the East Bank facility’s operations, infrastructure, and engineering specifications. FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant Location: 6000 Russell Street, River Ridge, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana 70123 Operating Authority: Jefferson Parish Department of Sewerage Design Capacity: 36.0 MGD (Average Daily Flow) / 80.0+ MGD (Peak Hydraulic) Current Average […]
Location: 8800 S Claiborne Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118Operating Authority: Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Carrollton Water Purification Plant Location: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana Operating Authority: Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) Design Capacity: 232 MGD (Million Gallons per Day) Current Average Flow: ~135 […]
INTRODUCTION Managing water age in distribution systems remains one of the most persistent challenges for municipal engineers. With the rising prevalence of chloramines and stricter regulations on Disinfection By-Products (DBPs), the “fill and forget” approach to distribution design is obsolete. Historically, manual flushing was the primary mitigation strategy, but rising labor costs and the need […]
1. INTRODUCTION In the hierarchy of unit processes within municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities, solids conveyance systems often receive less design scrutiny than liquid stream biological processes. However, the mechanical transport of dewatered biosolids, screenings, and grit represents one of the most mechanically intensive and maintenance-critical operations in a treatment plant. The failure of […]