With so many wastewater treatment equipment manufacturers, how do you know which company is best? What makes one company better than all of the rest? Use this guide to help decide how to choose the wastewater treatment manufacturer and equipment that will best suit your needs and budget.

Study the Local, State, and Federal Laws

Before you even start calling wastewater treatment manufacturers, you need to come up with an exact list of your plant’s needs. Start by looking at the local, state, and federal laws that apply to the water you’re treating and either sending back to homes or into a body of water.

In addition to the laws, pay attention to the fines you face if you get something wrong. If your equipment can’t handle the flood of water coming in after heavy rain and some effluent is released into a body of water without being properly treated, you face fines. Those fines could negatively impact your water treatment plant.

What Wastewater Are You Cleaning and Treating?

Once you understand the laws, think about the wastewater you’ll be treating Have you completed a study of the wastewater you’ll be treating? This is necessary if you want to have the best understanding of the wastewater contaminants. Are you going to be cleaning storm runoff more than waste pumped from residential septic systems? Are you going to process a lot of residential septic system waste? Will you have wastewater coming from industrial plants or is it mainly residential? Is the wastewater from a restaurant district going to leave you treating a lot of oily water? Is the water loaded with inorganic contaminants?

Knowing the type of wastewater is going to help you in the long run. If you’re getting water from septic systems or sewers that may have items that must be removed, such as tampon applicators or condoms, you’ll need screens and trash or screen rakes to get these items out of the way before they cause problems farther down the line. Wastewater coming in from street runoff will have stones, small branches, and trash that also needs to be removed.

Picking the Best Wastewater Treatment Manufacturer

Once you have decided what equipment is needed, you need to narrow down your choices for manufacturers. You’ll have a budget, so the cost is going to be a driving factor. You don’t want too cheap. Saving money doesn’t always mean you’re getting equipment that lasts, just as spending more doesn’t guarantee a lifetime of dependability.

Look for manufacturers who sell wastewater treatment equipment where the moving parts are not submerged. This can cut maintenance costs. If the parts are never exposed to water, they’re not likely to degrade due to corrosion or mineral build-up from the water. They’re also not exposed to grit.

You need to consider the space you have. For example, when it comes to a grit collection system, Lakeside’s SpiraGrit Vortex Grit Chamber needs less space than the Lakeside Aeroductor. You’ll have effective equipment without overcrowding your site.

Ask the companies on your shortlist to share wastewater treatment plants they’ve designed and installed. If you can see photos of completed projects and read reports of the water quality, cost-effectiveness, and flow rates, it can help you see that the water treatment results you want can be a reality.

Finally, look at the wastewater treatment manufacturer’s history. A company that has decades of experience is going to be more knowledgeable than someone just starting out. An established company is going to have a large network of distributors available so that you don’t have to wait for parts or equipment to be available.

Choose Wisely and You’ll Have an Efficient, Effective System

This all takes time and has to be carefully planned. If you take the time to consider these factors, you’ll have the best possible insight into the type of wastewater equipment you need. It helps you avoid fines down the road from an inefficient system. You also have a system that is cost-effective as it will be designed to last a long time while being energy-efficient and need little maintenance.

Back in 1928, Lakeside Equipment Corporation was founded to help North American municipalities and companies establish water purification systems. The focus has always been on providing systems that efficiently and effectively clean and treat wastewater so that it’s safe, clean water for people to consume or so that it can be returned to natural water sources without fear of introducing bacteria and contaminants.

We’ve had close to a century of experience in wastewater treatment. We know how to evaluate a wastewater treatment manufacture and make sure our customers are choosing the right equipment for their budgets and water treatment needs. Give us a call and let us know how we can help.

Wastewater treatment is critical to survival. As places face droughts and water sources dry up, questions turn to where are people going to get the water they need for cooking, laundry, showers, and hydration. Taking the water households and businesses use, cleaning and treating it, and sending it back into water sources, homes, and businesses is crucial.

The Realities of Water Usage

Around the world, there’s a problem that not every household stops to consider. In the U.S. alone, the average family uses around 300 gallons of water each day. Dishes, showers, toilet flushing, and laundry use the bulk of your water each day. Meanwhile, population growth is causing water usage to increase. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that water withdrawals in the 1950s were around 175 billion gallons per day. Fifty years later, water withdrawals neared 300 billion gallons per day.

While demand increases, the amount of rainfall and snow remain pretty level. You don’t see increased rainfall each year. Some years have more rainfall than others. Some areas see droughts that last for months. This puts a tremendous burden on water bodies that are used for public water.

Location Impacts Usage

A person’s location also impacts water consumption. In a drier climate, people water lawns to keep the grass from dying. That drives up usage. Farms often use irrigation systems on their crops, which also drives up usage. In those regions, more water gets used. Rain and snowfall may not replenish public water sources fast enough.

Only Some Precipitation Makes it to Water Sources

Of the rain and snow that do fall each year, around 70% of it goes back up into the atmosphere through evaporation. A heavy rain or snowfall doesn’t replenish water as quickly as some may believe. If you get an inch of rain during a storm, only 3/10s an inch of that rainfall is going to return to the area’s bodies of water.

You should also consider how much water accumulates in a storm that drops an inch of rain. Over a one-acre piece of land, that amount of rain comes to just over 27,150 gallons of water. As around 70% goes back up into the atmosphere, that means that approximately 8,145 gallons make it to a stream, river, pond, lake, or other bodies of water.

While that may be okay if an inch of rain happened daily across the nation, it doesn’t. Some areas don’t experience rain more than a few weeks per year. Wastewater treatment is an essential part of recycling the water people use and returning it to the nation’s streams, ponds, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. Wastewater may also go into public water systems where it’s reused in homes and businesses.

Deteriorating Infrastructure Is Another Problem

Adding to the issues of public water systems is the deteriorating infrastructure the U.S. is experiencing. Roadways, bridges, and rail systems aren’t all that make up the infrastructure. The underground piping that brings water from a water treatment plant or water storage tanks to homes and businesses is also a big part of the problem. The EPA estimates that in the next 25 years, around $271 billion is needed to improve and maintain the current water infrastructure. It’s important to replace rusting, rotten water mains that break and lead to large leaks. Leaks in a person’s home or business also account to as much as 12% of the average daily water use.

We Need to Work Together

Homeowners and businesses should do their part by reducing consumption by fixing leaks, updating older appliances that are water hogs, and collecting water in rain barrels for watering gardens and lawns. Limiting the time spent in a shower and proper maintenance of septic systems also helps. Water treatment plants must also do their part.

Water treatment plants lower energy consumption and prevent leaks by making sure their equipment is updated before it breaks down. Newer equipment is designed for a long life and helps lower expenses. You can also add components that are automated for optimal performance. By working together, it helps ensure there is safe drinking water for everyone, and it keeps costs as low as possible for taxpayers.

When was the last time your wastewater district updated equipment to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency? If it’s been a while, you need to talk to our experts. Lakeside Equipment has more than 90 years of experience with water purification. We’ll help you find upgrades that work for your community and are cost-effective options. Call us at (630) 837-5640 for more information.

More than 14,700 publicly-owned water treatment plants clean the wastewater for homes and businesses in the U.S. despite this, it’s still reported that more than half of the rivers and streams and almost three-quarters of the lakes in the nation have an “impaired” classification from the EPA. Cleaning and treatment water is essential before it returns to bodies of water, but some things are very difficult to remove from wastewater.

#1 – Pharmaceuticals

Between 2012 and 2014, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey tested the water from 20 wastewater treatment plants. They were looking for 200 prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, and chemicals. The study looked at plants that processed wastewater from residential areas and some that processed water from pharmaceutical companies. The water being treated from pharmaceutical companies contained extremely high quantities of medications, and after treatment, the levels of those medications were still higher than experts feel is appropriate.

In all, more than 30 of the medications they were looking for were found in treated water. One of those drugs is an antidepressant. After water treatment, the levels of the medication still in water was estimated to be 35 times higher than would be the safe dosage for a fish. When that water goes into lakes and streams, it can end up in the fish and aquatic creatures where it may impact their health. For people who eat fish, they may end up ingesting those medications.

# 2 – Hormones

Hormones have been found in wastewater. Estrogen is one of them. In some cases, the estrogen does come from medications, but some are natural forms of estrogen. Hormones from steroids are also found in water. When hormones make it into the water released into water sources, it can affect the development of fish and plants. It’s found that estrogen affects how plants develop flowers and germinate. A study found that exposure to hormones lowered sperm count and testes size of male fish. It impacted the heart health of tadpoles.

#3 – Trihalomethanes

It’s almost impossible to avoid having trihalomethanes (THMs) in the final stage of water treatment. THMs are a byproduct of total organic carbons reacting with the chlorine used to kill any remaining bacteria. It’s believed that exposure to too much THMs can increase the risk of cancer or impact reproductive health.

#4 – Microbeads

Microbeads are tiny plastic pellets commonly found in beauty products. They’re meant to help better exfoliate the skin. You may find them in body washes, toothpaste, and shampoo. Larger plastics that are exposed to sun and environmental forces may also break down plastics into tiny pieces of plastic. As the beads and pieces are so tiny, they often get through the screening aspect of wastewater treatment. If they’re not caught during the water treatment process, they can end back up in bodies of water where fish and other aquatic species ingest them.

The U.S. has taken strides to remove microbeads from products. More work is to be done, however, as scientists believe most Americans eat up to 52,000 microbeads each year. A Google contest got students thinking about the best ways to remove microbeads from wastewater, and it’s led to some great ideas.

#5 – Sodium and Potassium Chloride

When a household is one a well and that well water is hard, a water softener is installed to improve the water quality. That water treatment process often relies on potassium or sodium chloride, which ends up in wastewater treatment plants. Towns and cities that use road salt to treat roads in the winter also use introduce chloride to runoff. If the chloride isn’t removed properly, it can kill the aquatic plants that fish and small aquatic creatures rely on for survival.

While it is possible to remove chloride, it’s not always affordable as it takes upgraded equipment. A Wisconsin wastewater treatment district reports that to remove it all could increase costs by as much as 500%.

Effective Water Treatment Solutions

Wastewater treatment plants that upgrade their equipment to use newer methods of water treatment do have an easier time removing these items from wastewater. Up to 99% of pharmaceuticals are removed when treatment processes include activated carbon filtering, advanced oxidation, nanofiltration, ozonation, or reverse osmosis.

The cleaner the water is before chlorine is added, the lower the risk of developing THMs. They only occur if total organic carbons, which occur naturally when vegetation decays or bacteria grow, mix with chlorine. If you have removed the majority before chlorination, you avoid the development of THMs.

Clarification and filtration systems that remove fine solids. A plant needs to screen out larger particles like rocks and plastics, remove the grit, allow solids to separate and be removed, and aerate the resulting liquid. The second round of settling takes place and the wastewater is filtered. It’s then disinfected.

Lakeside Equipment offers complete water treatment plant packages designed to match your budget and plant size. If you need to upgrade your equipment or purchase parts, we’re also happy to help. You’ll work with a designated engineer throughout your project. Call us to learn more.

Wastewater treatment plants throughout the United States process close to 34 billion gallons of wastewater each day. This wastewater comes from septic systems, sewers, factories, and storm runoff. As it contains human and animal waste, cleaners, body products, and grit, it has to go through several steps before it’s released back into a local body of water or storage tanks where it’s used to provide water to area homes and businesses.

Why clean it? There are several reasons, but the most important is that wastewater is full of bacteria that can harm you. Nitrogen and phosphorus damage lakes and rivers by increasing the rate at which harmful algae grows. This algae starve lakes of oxygen and lead to fish and other aquatic creatures to die.

Water is not safe to drink or swim in if it contains high levels of bacteria. If it’s used to water vegetables, it could spread diseases like E-coli or salmonella if the produce isn’t washed properly or cooked to kill the bacteria. There’s also the issue of heavy metals like lead and mercury. Mercury gets into the fish people eat, so it’s important to remove it before the water returns to lakes, rivers, and the oceans. Three key steps take place to clean and purify the water before it can be returned.

The First Step

The first stage of a water treatment process is to remove large pieces of waste and debris from the wastewater. Human and animal waste, sticks and stones, and trash are removed using screens and rakes. Screens come in different sizes so that larger material is caught first. The wastewater continues on the way passing through smaller and smaller screen sizes. Eventually, it will pass through a fine screen before it moves to the next process. All of that debris and waste that is caught goes to incinerators, compost, or landfills.

If the wastewater treatment plant is above the ground level, pumps are needed to move the remaining liquid to the next stage. Otherwise, gravity helps the remaining wastewater on its journey. At this point, the wastewater is still a mix of liquids with smaller clumps of fecal matter, sand, coffee grounds, and other finer grit that screens cannot catch.

The Second Step

At this point, one of three methods takes place. The goal is to remove those fine particles and start breaking down the organic materials.

#1 – Aeration

With aeration, the remaining wastewater is mixed the microorganisms that help break down all of the remaining organic materials. The process of decay begins in the aeration tanks. The aeration also helps by forcing grit to the bottom of the grit collection tanks where those fine particles of sand, coffee grounds, etc. can be removed and taken to compost piles or landfills. The liquids or organic sludge are pushed to the top of the bank where it continues the aeration process.

#2 – Biofiltration

Biofiltration is a slow process where the wastewater trickles through contact, sand, or trickling filters to capture sediment. This is not a process you’ll see used often as it’s slow and can only process so much wastewater at a time. Towns that use it are usually only processing small amounts of wastewater each day.

#3 – Oxidation Ponds

Oxidation ponds require heat to work properly, so they’re also not the first choice of most wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater is pumped to ponds where the water naturally breaks down over several weeks with the help of sun and algae. It’s uncommon to see them for treating wastewater in the U.S., but you might notice a farm with a manure pit that goes through the same process before the manure is reused to fertilize farm fields.

In the U.S., aeration is the most common second step in water treatment. It’s effective, efficient, and is capable of managing the amount of wastewater reaching most plants every day.

The Third and Final Step

Before the water is truly clear and safe to return to bodies of water or homes and businesses, it must be filtered to remove any off-color and odors. It’s treated with chemicals to kill any remaining bacteria and goes to tanks where the chlorinated water is exposed to UV to reduce chlorine to safe levels. From there, it’s piped to holding tanks or back into lakes, streams, or other bodies of water.

Save time and money on an inefficient wastewater system. Lakeside Equipment can help you upgrade your equipment for trouble-free operation with equipment that does a great job removing debris and solids automatically. Our goal is to design a system or arrange upgrades that boost your plant’s performance without driving up costs on the residents in your water district. Call us for more information.

Is it time to upgrade your water treatment plant? The EPA estimates that wastewater treatment plants process close to 34 billion gallons of wastewater each day. That’s more than 12 trillion gallons each year. It’s stunning. Now consider how much it costs to treat that water. When you consider salaries, administration, and operating costs, it can be substantial.

Just to run a wastewater treatment plant, you have the cost of chemicals, the pumps and machinery, and maintenance of that machinery and piping. The more upgrades you make to modern, more energy-efficient technologies, the more you’ll save the people in your district. Some changes are easy to make and don’t cost much. Switch out old lighting fixtures for energy-efficient LED fixtures and bulbs. That will save some money. When it comes to your plant’s equipment, these are the three upgrades you must consider.

New Pumps Reduce Maintenance Costs, Improve Efficiency and Slash Electricity Bills

When was the last time you replaced the pumps and motors in your plant? Older motors and pumps breakdown regularly and are often inefficient. You lose time and money when a pump stops working and has to be repaired. You also end up paying maintenance workers more as they’re spending extra time fixing old, worn-out components.

Screw pumps move a lot of wastewater without a lot of moving parts that wear out and need repair. Lakeside Equipment’s screw pumps offer 70% efficiency, which lowers your power consumption. Plus the capacity is variable and doesn’t need special controls to operate. That cuts the cost when it comes to replacing equipment. If you choose a Type C Pump, it is up to 10% more efficient than an Open Screw Pump.

Anaerobic Digesters That Produce Methane to Help Heat and Power Your Plant

Have you considered heating your water treatment plant as part of your treatment process? The installation of anaerobic digesters do this for you. The digesters produce methane. You can take the methane they produce and burn them in a Combined Heat and Power system that heats your plant and also provides some of the power you’re using to run the facility.

The Closed Loop Reactor (CLR) Process uses pumps to mix, aerate, and recirculate wastewater while Biological Nutrient Removal processes help remove phosphorus and nitrogen. Aeration systems can be costly to run, but with high-efficiency models and automated controls, you can drastically reduce your energy consumption. Plus, you’ll add anaerobic tanks and capture the methane. With the CLR, you’re already minimizing costs because it doesn’t need a lot of babysitting by your employees. It’s also one of the best designs if you want to reduce your plant’s energy usage.

Reduce Power Bills With Fully-Integrated Controls

If you’re looking to boost your plant’s efficiency, you likely have a SCADA system in place. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) allows you to constantly monitor water quality, view your plant’s security, and allow for emergency shutdowns if alarms go off. Pair SCADA with fully-integrated process controls. You’ll be able to study all areas of the wastewater treatment plant and see what equipment is stopped, where the nitrogen levels are, and what percentages aeration is at. From one computer, you can adjust things as needed to boost efficiency, which reduces energy costs and increases your plant’s performance.

Changes Do Cost Money, But Savings Make Up For It

One thing that keeps wastewater treatment plant owners from making upgrades is the initial cost of the equipment and its installation. There is going to be an upfront cost that can seem high. However, you need to look at the savings. For many of these upgrades, the money you save being energy-efficient ends up paying for equipment over a year or two. The upgrades pay for themselves. Energy-efficiency loans and grants may help you pay for the upgrades. For a wastewater treatment plant in Idaho, savings after making energy-efficient equipment upgrades came to around $635,000 per year. The company got a low-interest loan to make the upgrades that included LED lighting fixtures, anaerobic digesters, new diffusers, blowers, and a dissolved oxygen control system.

Lakeside Equipment has close to a century of experience in wastewater treatment equipment. We pride ourselves in improving the quality of water throughout the world while keeping to a customer’s budget. We offer the highest quality water treatment equipment in the industry and exceptional customer service when it comes to upgrades and replacement parts. Give us a call. We’re happy to discuss these and other energy-efficient upgrades that will save your wastewater treatment plant money.

Changes to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 led to the Clean Water Act we know today. Every few years, new rules or amendments continue to improve water quality across the nation. We’ve seen amendments in 1977 and 1978, 1984 and 1985, 1987, 1990, 1993 and 1994, right up to the Phase II Store Water Rule and Confined Animal Feeding Operation Rule in 1999 and 2002.

If you’re only updating your wastewater treatment plan when amendments are added or altered, you’re doing your plant and residential customers a disservice. You should always be looking at ways to be more efficient and more effective. With some areas experiencing lengthy droughts and increased water usage, we all need to do more to reuse wastewater. That’s just one area to focus your attention on.

Problems Wastewater Treatment Plants Face

The population keeps growing. With those changes, the EPA points out some of the biggest problems wastewater treatments face. All of them need to be addressed. You may not need to take care of them now, but you shouldn’t be caught by surprise if any of these common issues occur. By planning for them in advance, you’re able to arrange the improvements before it’s an emergency.

#1 – Wastewater treatment plants in many corners of the U.S. are aging. If you haven’t updated your equipment, you’re wasting money on repairs and paying more in electricity because the older wastewater equipment uses more energy than newer models.

#2 – Expanding populations may be taxing your system. St. George, Utah, has seen its population expand by close to 6.7 times over the past four decades. The Virgin River watershed is the area’s largest source of water. Officials are looking at building a 140-mile pipeline from Lake Powell to St. George. They’re planning in advance of a crisis. This is what you should be thinking about when you’re looking over your water treatment plan.

#3 – The range of contaminants getting into wastewater has changed over the decades. The increase in population also impacts this. People are building more homes in the country that require septic systems as sewer systems don’t tend to expand past the cities and suburbs. Homes on septic systems have high rates of nitrogen and phosphorus in their septic system’s fluids and solids. Older water treatment plants may not remove as much as a newer system. The elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus make their way into waterways where it causes algal blooms to flourish. Prescription medication usage and household cleaners also make their way into the wastewater.

#4 – Farms are on a decline in some areas. In areas where farming is still a major industry, the runoff of fertilizers and manure adds to pollution. That runoff can make its way into streams and rivers without being treated. Communities are working at changing that as the pollution shows up in lakes and other water sources. When those bodies of water are part of a municipal water system, water treatment plants have to make sure the water they treat meets quality standards. That can be harder when they’re dealing with chemical fertilizers and animal manure.

Upgrades That Pay For Themselves

Wastewater treatment plants can power the equipment using nature. Solar and wind power are two ways to power the machinery used in a plant without driving up larger electricity bills. A wastewater treatment plant in Massachusetts added a fixed-array solar system to provide power to some of the town’s water treatment plant. Since that addition, the monthly utility bill has dropped by approximately 50%. The company is able to clean water and keep costs down for the area’s taxpayers. It’s a win-win for both sides.

Newer equipment can be easier to maintain. Today’s screw pumps are designed to lower your operating costs and cut maintenance costs. Grit washers that keep the bearings above the water leave don’t require as much in maintenance costs. This keeps your costs down. Corrosion-resistant stainless steel helps your equipment last longer, which also cuts equipment costs. Are you worried about the expense of constructing a new system? A Raptor Complete Plant is pre-assembled to save time and money when upgrading your equipment.

How often you upgrade your water treatment plan does require a little thought. A system that was built to handle the expanding population may not need upgrades as often as a small-town system that’s older and at max capacity. Lakeside Equipment is happy to discuss your current system and the improvements that are cost-effective and energy-efficient.

Since 1928, Lakeside Equipment has been helping our customers create water treatment systems that are both efficient and cost-effective. Lakeside is committed to planning and installing quality systems that benefit the public and the companies that work hard to keep the water clean. Give us a call to discuss how you can upgrade your system so that the improvements pay for themselves.

A municipal wastewater treatment facility must meet regulations. The problem is those regulations change. If your plant’s equipment is failing to meet the changing regulations, you face fines and penalties. If you’re just starting out, those same regulations apply to your new water treatment plant.

The goal of wastewater treatment is to remove pollutants and contaminants from sewer/septic water and run-off. Animal waste, chemical cleaners, pharmaceuticals, and pathogens like cholera are all examples of these contaminants and pollutants. In order to keep streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans clean for swimming and fishing, water must be cleaned, treated, and returned to homes or the environment. Before the water is returned, it must meet tests to ensure it’s free of minerals and heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury. These guidelines are set by the government.

How do you meet the demands of the municipality you’re serving and keep up with the changing regulations? These municipal wastewater treatment tips help you prioritize the importance of the right wastewater treatment system.

Recycling Water is Important to the Planet’s Future

The EPA estimates a person uses 80 to 100 gallons of water each day. Agricultural use raises this even higher. The USGS estimates 322 billion gallons are used each day in all. Residential use is around 39 billion gallons per day.

The importance of recycling wastewater has been shown around the world as water sources dry up. Lake Mead is a good example. The lake provides water to the majority of homes in Southern Nevada. The lake level has decreased drastically over the years. When full, the lake is just under 1,230 feet. In recent years, the lake has reached a high of 1,090 feet. Recycled water could lower the demand for these water sources. Instead of drawing from lakes and rivers, water treatment plants could turn wastewater into clean drinking water to return to public water sources.

Maintenance is a Must

Juneau, Alaska, learned about inadequate wastewater systems back in 2000 when the EPA sued the city for $60,000 and talked about criminal charges for allowing raw sewage to be discharged into local waterways. Some of the wastewater was backing up into homes. Public Works found that a lack of maintenance was to blame. Preventative maintenance and timely repairs would have prevented this lawsuit.

You should not wait until a part fails before you take steps to repair it. Scheduled maintenance keeps equipment running. It also lets you know when upgrades or repairs are essential to ensure you’re meeting regulations. In Juneau’s case, the fecal coliform counts in the water released to the waterways was 437,000 percent higher than the EPA allows.

Consider Future Residential Growth

Juneau’s system can handle 35,000 residents, but it’s expected that the population will exceed the current systems in 15 years or so. A new plant would be expensive to build. The city estimates that connections to a new location could cost as much as $30,000 per lot and around $1,000 per meter of necessary piping. Landowners currently pay $5,000 per lot. The city would need to get grant money and loans to offset the cost to homeowners.

Water treatment plants need to consider future growth. If your system is able to handle the wastewater from 25,000 residents now, what happens if there is a population boom 5, 10, or 20 years from now. You’ll be forced to expand, whether you have the money available or not. If you look to the future from the start, you’re able to buy time until the expansion is needed. You also avoid costly fines from the EPA.

Upgrades That Boost Efficiency Are Worth the Expense

Don’t avoid upgrading your wastewater treatment equipment due to the cost. As one water precinct learned, upgrades ended up paying for themselves in little time. Adding solar panels or wind turbines to power their equipment saved them money. Variable-frequency drives also added extra savings bringing the total yearly savings to around $80,000 with just a few upgrades.

A water treatment plant’s biggest expense is power. Get equipment that uses less electricity than your current equipment. Energy-efficient motors, variable-frequency drives, and switching to LED lighting makes a difference. Choose aerators that use less horsepower while being just as effective. Running motors more during the night when electricity rates are reduced also lowers operating costs.

If you’re new or building a new plant, you’re probably already getting energy-efficient wastewater treatment equipment. You’ll still lower your operating costs by looking at renewable energy sources like solar and wind power for some of the electricity your facility consumes.

Talk to Lakeside Equipment about these and other tips to help your municipal wastewater treatment plant work efficiently and effectively. We offer a wide range of wastewater treatment equipment and parts to ensure you stay within your budget while improving your system. Give us a call at (630) 837-5640.

Water treatment technology has come a long way. New Jersey’s Jersey City started everything by being the nation’s first city to regularly treating water for the community’s residents. That was 1908. Within 10 years, thousands of other communities followed suit and helped lower the rates of disease and infection linked to contaminated water.

At the time, cholera and typhoid fever were two of the most common diseases spread through contaminated water. By 1920, less than 20 years from the nation’s first water treatment system, the number of cases declined from 0.001% of the population to approximately 0.00034%. Advancements in water treatment continue to help eliminate these diseases. In 2006, the number of cases was minuscule at 0.000001%.

Today’s focus isn’t all on quality. Today’s water treatment advancements focus on everything from energy efficiency to recycling wastewater. Here are five innovations in water technology you need to know about.

Solar-Powered Water Treatment

The reliance on electricity has been a concern for water treatment. If a power grid is knocked out for days following a catastrophic event or storm, it can severely impact water treatment plants. The loss of pressure can allow contaminants to get into groundwater. If a pump shuts down, untreated sewage could get into nearby streams, rivers, and lakes.

Zero-emissions is another focus. Cleaner air is important for the world. The more people embrace green practices, the less impact these processes have on the environment. There’s also the cost of running a plant. Water treatment is paid for through water bills. Homeowners may struggle with increasing bills. Keeping costs low for the community is important.

One of the ways companies are working around this is by tapping into the sun’s energy. An Arizona water treatment plant installed close to 23,000 solar panels to produce the bulk of the energy needed to operate the plant. By switching to solar power, the plant expects to save more than $1.6 million.

The Sun Can Also Help Process Hydrogen

Hydrogen is used in everything from the fertilizer that farms use to plastics manufacturing. Princeton University came up with a way to draw hydrogen from wastewater using the power of the sun. By creating a silicon processing chamber, bacteria and sun work together to force the water to split. The hydrogen bubbles to the top where it can be collected and used in industrial settings. The water continues on its way through the water treatment plant.

Turning Algae Into Biofuel

Gas-powered cars are the norm. Many heating systems rely on propane and kerosene. Researchers have been working hard to find alternatives to gas. Researchers are looking at algae as an option. With an algae water treatment plant, it can double as a biofuel plant.

Some wastewater treatment plants use algae to process some of the waste. After the effluent is treated, you have algae left over. That algae can be converted into biofuel. Algae used for treating water also helps lower electricity use. A Cal Poly study compared a nutrient-removal system to an algae system and the cost dropped from around $950,000 per year to $300,000.

Membrane Water Treatment

A water treatment plant in Singapore is testing out technology designed to reduce liquid waste by more than 90%. A fiber membrane filter allows water to pass through the filter at speeds that are 30% faster than current filtration systems. The metals in the wastewater the filter processes go into a concentrated liquid that can be reused in other industries. It’s believed the energy savings will be five times less at a membrane filtration plant.

Improved Stormwater Management

In the country, heavy rainfall puddles on the ground and eventually works its way through the soil where it’s filtered. In a city, that heavy rainfall rushes to the sewers where it can overload a water treatment plant. It may back up and cause flooding that causes erosion.

Stormwater management techniques are being developed to help prevent this. Some of the methods being used are to have water from rooftops go into gutters that connect to rain barrels. Those rain barrels can be used to water gardens. Rain gardens are popping up on the sides of city streets to collect runoff. It adds greenery to city streets, which also boosts oxygen going into the environment. This all lowers the rush of water going to water treatment plants or running into streams and lakes where the polluted water enters the water source without first being treated.

Lakeside Equipment understands the advancements the water treatment industry has seen. Founded in 1928, we’ve helped customers around the world create clean water for people in a cost-effective manner. We pride ourselves on quality systems that match your budget. Call us for more information.

Have you ever thought of what happens to the water that gets flushed down the toilet, the rainwater that goes into sewers, or water that’s washed clothing and dishes? Every day in the U.S., the average person uses as much as 100 gallons of water. Flushing toilets and taking showers and baths are two of the biggest culprits.

All of that wastewater that’s being flushed or drained into septic tanks or sewers can be recycled. People aren’t often comfortable with that idea. They can’t imagine taking toilet water and recycling it into clean drinking water. In fact, a questionnaire found that almost half of those surveyed said they would be willing to try recycled wastewater. Just over 1 in 10 said there was absolutely no way they’d drink it. Would you? It might be the only way to prevent water shortages.

Why Do Countries Need to Start Recycling Waste Water?

Throughout the world, there are countries struggling to meet the public’s demand for water. Water scarcity occurs due to the climate and/or failing infrastructure. According to the United Nation, more than 2 billion people already live in a country that is dealing with water scarcity.

Chennai, India, gained a lot of attention in 2019 when Chembarambakkam Lake, one of the city’s largest water reservoirs dried up despite receiving 30 inches of rain in 2018. The lack of water is affecting businesses and close to 10 million residents. Emergency trucks and trains can’t bring in the water fast enough to keep up with demand.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations finds that 96% of the world’s water use comes from bodies of fresh water, such as ponds, lakes, and rivers. As the climate changes and water sources dry up, it could be disastrous. Turning wastewater into drinking water is not only possible, but it’s also one of the best ways to keep cities and towns from running out of water.

How Does Wastewater Become Drinking Water?

Water arrives at a wastewater treatment plant where solids and large particles are filtered. Those solids are removed and composted, sent to a landfill, or incinerated. Grit removal is next. Small stones, sand, and other smaller particles sink into a chamber where they are removed. The remaining water flows to the next stage.

This removes some of the waste from the water, but it can’t remove it all. The secondary treatment stages start. This process involves making the most of the bacteria and oxygenating the wastewater. Bacteria help consume smaller particles that have made it through to this stage. The bacteria do their job before the water is filtered through very fine filter systems. Chlorine is added to the resulting water to kill bacteria and the odor that remains. Chlorine kills about 99% of the bacteria that remain in the water. The chlorine has to be removed and then water is ready for the next step.

This clean water needs to be processed for human consumption. Dechlorination is the next step. It’s a process used to remove excess chlorine and may use exposure to ultraviolet lighting. Some water treatment plants use reverse osmosis, which uses pressure to force the water through filters. These filters remove additional bacteria, remnants of prescription medications that are still present in the water, and any viruses that have made it through. Additional chemicals are used and then UV lighting helps remove those chemicals.

Once this is complete, the water is sent to natural water supplies. It mixes with these natural water supplies, is filtered again, and makes its way back to homes and businesses through the water lines and pipes. By the time it reaches homes, people would have a hard time believing the crystal clear water came from a wastewater treatment plant.

California’s Already Doing It

California’s Orange Country residents have already embraced recycled water. When one of the county’s reservoirs reached critical lows after years of drought conditions, the Orange County Water District took action. The plant cleans and returns up to 100 million gallons of wastewater each day and returns it to the public water system. The treated wastewater is mixed with the main water supply and reaches hundreds of thousands of people.

The right equipment is needed through each of these stages of water treatment and purification. Founded in 1928, Lakeside Equipment helps companies and cities around the world plan and implement water treatment systems that deliver results while also being an economical solution. The equipment is designed to last and help with energy costs at the same time. Call 1-630-837-5640 to discuss upgrading your current water treatment system to be cost-effective while delivering clean, recycled wastewater to area homes and businesses.

Since the Clean Water Act’s existence, improvements continue to be made both to improve water quality and reduce energy consumption. Since 1972, the U.S. government has provided $104 billion towards the Clean Water Act. However, it’s estimated that another $271 billion will be needed by 2038 to keep meeting the Clean Water Act’s goals. Some of those goals are:

• Improve energy-efficiency in water treatment plants
• Improve the reuse and recycling of stormwater and wastewater throughout the U.S.
• Improve security at treatment plants to protect our public water systems

The energy consumed by a water treatment plant depends on several factors. One of the biggest is how deep the water source is. The deeper the aquifer, the more energy is used to pump it out. The farther the water source is from the consumers and businesses, the more energy is used pumping water to those buildings. While a company may not be able to control these factors, the right equipment can help lower costs.

What Will Help Improve Sustainability?

How do you make sure your plans are also sustainable? Water treatment is only one part of getting clean water to people. You’ve seen stories of communities put on water restrictions because water supplies are drying up during a drought. There’s also the issue of repairs to the infrastructure costing more than cities and towns have available. To be sustainable, governments need to focus on reusing stormwater and wastewater. To do that and be energy-efficient, careful attention to equipment and processes is needed.

How Can You Improve Energy-Efficiency at a Water Treatment Plant?

The EPA has a good breakdown of where the most energy is used in a water treatment plant. Getting water from a source to a water treatment plant takes as much as 14,000 kWh per million gallons. Treating the water takes as much as 16,000 kWh per million gallons and distributing it to consumers and businesses add another 700 to 1,200 kWh per million gallons.

Newer energy-efficiency equipment is one of the steps to improving energy consumption. These are some of the things you can consider when looking into plant improvements.

#1 – Pumps

When it comes to screw pumps, there are two types. Open screw pumps sit in concrete or steel troughs and can be set at an angle of 22 to 40 degrees. The screw turns and pushes water along the trough to the desired location. With the open screw pumps at Lakeside Equipment, the pumping capacity varies and delivers 70 to 75% efficiency.

The other type of pump is an enclosed screw pump. The screw pump sits within a tube and can incline up to 45 degrees for Type C or 22 to 40 degrees for Type S. While Type S costs less to maintain or repair, Type C is up to 10 percent more efficient than an open screw pump. Type C is a good choice for a water treatment plant that is focused on efficiency.

#2 – Screening Systems

Screening systems remove solids and scum as water is being processed. Grit and rock removal systems can be part of a screening system, too. By screening solids, sludge, scum, and other items from the water, you reduce clogs and wear and tear on equipment. It aids the cleaning process and helps keep maintenance and operating costs lower. It also helps reduce the amount of waste being disposed of, which is better for the environment.

#3 – Aerators

Aerators increase the oxygen levels in the water that’s being treated and keep sludge and scum from settling during the treatment stages. This improves efficiency during the biological treatment stages and reduces power consumption.

#4 – SCADA

Another energy-efficient step companies can take is to install SCADA software. This software can pinpoint issues within a water treatment plant, but it also monitors the water flow and adjusts the pump rate to ensure a plant is getting the highest level of efficiency at all hours of the day. If energy consumption spikes, workers are alerted and can immediately find out what’s going on and fix the issue before a lot of energy is wasted.

#5 – Other Changes

Some changes that help improve energy-efficiency are smaller. Installing energy-efficient lighting systems will reduce a water treatment plant’s carbon footprint. Adding solar panels or wind turbines to help produce energy a water treatment plant uses. Checking and repairing leaks in a water system is also important.

Lakeside Equipment helps companies plan cost-effective water treatment plants that don’t require a lot of maintenance. Our team of engineers helps you build a system that meets your energy goals, doesn’t take more space than is necessary, and improves sustainability. Talk to us about upgrading your equipment or coming up with a trouble-free, high-performing water treatment plan. We’re happy to help you achieve your goals.