Tag: treatment
The primary wastewater treatment facility serving Newark and Essex County, New Jersey. FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Newark Bay Treatment Plant Location: 600 Wilson Avenue, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey Operating Authority: Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) Design Capacity: 330 MGD (Annual Average) Peak Wet Weather Capacity: ~720 MGD Population Served: 1.5 million residents Service […]
Introduction For municipal and industrial wastewater engineers, the protection of downstream process equipment—pumps, valves, centrifuges, and digesters—starts at the headworks. The improper reduction of solids or the inefficient separation of inorganic grit can lead to catastrophic pump cavitation, seal failures, and the rapid accumulation of rag balls in digesters that necessitates expensive cleanouts. When specifying […]
FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: MCUA Central Wastewater Treatment Facility Location: Sayreville, Middlesex County, New Jersey Operating Authority: Middlesex County Utilities Authority (MCUA) Design Capacity: 147 MGD (Average Daily Flow) Peak Hydraulic Capacity: 350 MGD Population Served: Approx. 800,000 residents (plus substantial industrial base) Service Area: Lower Raritan River Basin (Middlesex, Somerset, and Union Counties) […]
INTRODUCTION Grit accumulation remains one of the most pervasive and costly “silent failures” in municipal wastewater treatment. While headworks screens provide visible capture, grit often bypasses preliminary treatment, settling in aeration basins, reducing digester capacity by up to 30%, and causing premature abrasion failure in downstream pumps. For consulting engineers and plant directors, the selection […]
FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Little Ferry Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF)Location: Little Ferry, Bergen County, New JerseyOperating Authority: Bergen County Utilities Authority (BCUA)Design Capacity: 109 MGD (Million Gallons per Day)Current Average Flow: ~75-80 MGDPopulation Served: ~570,000 residentsService Area: 47 Municipalities in Bergen CountyReceiving Water Body: Hackensack RiverNPDES Permit Number: NJ0024015Year Commissioned: 1951 (Major expansions […]
Introduction The movement of dewatered biosolids, screenings, and grit is often the final bottleneck in modern treatment facilities. While headworks and biological processes receive significant engineering attention, the conveyance of “cake” solids remains a frequent source of operational headaches, from housekeeping nightmares to complete mechanical failures. Engineers tasked with facility upgrades often face a critical […]
1. Introduction to Thickening Equipment in Water and Wastewater Treatment In the hierarchy of unit processes within municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities, sludge thickening represents a critical intermediate step between liquid treatment and solids handling. While often overshadowed by the biological treatment processes upstream or the final dewatering and disposal downstream, thickening is the […]
FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Akron Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) Location: 2460 Akron-Peninsula Road, Akron, Summit County, Ohio Operating Authority: City of Akron Department of Public Service, Sewer Bureau Design Average Flow: 90 MGD Peak Secondary Capacity: 220-280 MGD (Hydraulic) Population Served: Approx. 330,000 Service Area: City of Akron and 13 surrounding communities (approx. 96 […]
FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Westerly Wastewater Treatment Center (WWTC) Location: 5800 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio Operating Authority: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) Design Average Capacity: 35 MGD Peak Wet Weather Capacity: 400 MGD (Combined Plant & CSOTF) Population Served: ~106,000 residents Service Area: Cleveland (West Side), Brooklyn Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, […]
INTRODUCTION Grit removal efficiency is often the silent variable that dictates the lifespan of downstream biosolids equipment, clarifier drives, and digesters. While the civil design of grit chambers (vortex vs. detritor vs. aerated) garners significant attention during the design phase, the mechanism for extracting that captured grit—the grit pump—is the common failure point. Engineers often […]