Tag: water
Introduction For municipal and industrial treatment plant engineers, solids handling frequently represents the most volatile component of operational expenditure (OPEX). While the liquid train often receives the bulk of design attention, the “tail of the plant”—sludge thickening, dewatering, and disposal—accounts for approximately 40% to 50% of total treatment costs. When evaluating the Top 10 Sludge […]
The World’s Largest Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant Location: 5000 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, D.C. 20032 Operating Authority: District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) Design Capacity: 384 MGD (Average Daily Flow) / 1,000+ MGD (Peak Wet Weather) Current Average Flow: ~290 – […]
Introduction In the modern municipal water and wastewater landscape, the System Integrator (SI) occupies a critical role that transcends simple equipment supply. Unlike pump manufacturers or valve suppliers who provide discrete mechanical assets, the SI is responsible for the facility’s central nervous system—the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Human […]
The authoritative technical resource for the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority regional treatment facility. FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) Wastewater Treatment Plant Location: 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Operating Authority: Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) Design Capacity: 250 MGD (Average Daily), expanding to 480 MGD (Wet Weather) Current Average […]
Introduction For municipal and industrial wastewater engineers, the decision to implement Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) or Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) technologies usually stems from a singular, pressing constraint: the need to increase biological treatment capacity within a fixed, often land-locked footprint. While the concept of biofilm carriers is well-established, the “commodity” perception of […]
Facility Status: Currently undergoing a massive multi-year expansion as part of the Clean Water Plan to increase wet weather treatment capacity from 250 MGD to 600 MGD. FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) Wastewater Treatment Plant (often referred to as Woods Run) Location 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA 15233 […]
The authoritative technical resource for the Philadelphia Water Department’s primary energy-neutral facility. FACILITY BASIC INFORMATION Plant Name: Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant (SE WPCP)Location: 25 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148Operating Authority: Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)Design Capacity: 121 MGD (Average Daily Flow)Peak Hydraulic Capacity: 224 MGDPopulation Served: ~1,000,000 residentsService Area: South Philadelphia, Center City, and portions […]
Introduction The pressure to intensify nutrient removal within existing wastewater treatment plant footprints has never been higher. For municipal and industrial engineers, the Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) and Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) processes represent a critical solution to this density problem. However, a staggering number of retrofit projects face operational bottlenecks not because […]
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Operating Authority: Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) Facility Basic Information Plant Name: Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant (NEWPCP)Location: 3899 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA 19137Operating Authority: Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)Design Capacity (Average): 210 MGDWet Weather Capacity: 420+ MGDPopulation Served: ~1.1 MillionService Area: Northeast Philadelphia, portions of Montgomery and Bucks CountiesReceiving Water Body: Delaware […]
Introduction One of the most persistent challenges in municipal and industrial water treatment design is the fragmentation of technology. A typical treatment plant is a complex assembly of headworks, biological processes, clarification, disinfection, and solids handling systems. When engineers treat these as isolated unit processes, the facility often suffers from integration failures, disparate control philosophies, […]