The U.S. has close to 14,750 wastewater treatment plans, and they process the wastewater of residential and business wastewater that comes in from sewer lines, but approximately 20% of homes and businesses in the U.S. have septic systems that treat some wastewater within the system and the leach field. Every few years or even sooner, trucks pump out the septic tanks and haul the septage to a wastewater treatment facility.

The EPA estimates that wastewater treatment facilities process around 34 billion gallons of wastewater every day. This is an expensive endeavor when it comes to the cost of repairs, upgrades, and most importantly energy consumption. An estimated $2 billion a year is spent on electricity alone, with as much as 40% of a wastewater treatment plant’s operation budget covering that facility’s electricity bills.

Across the nation, wastewater treatment facilities are setting goals to reduce their energy consumption while ensuring water meets the rigid standards required before the wastewater goes to oceans, ponds, rivers, streams, or water treatment plants for reuse. What are the best methods of reducing energy consumption?

Conduct an Energy Audit

An energy audit is the best step to take to identify areas where you can improve your plant’s efficiency. The EPA Office of Wastewater Management has a self-assessment tool to help you get started. The goals of an assessment are to reduce your energy consumption, reduce your operating costs, reduce water loss, reduce your facility’s carbon footprint, and improve the water infrastructure.

ENERGY STAR also offers energy-saving tips and guidance through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. If your plant has room for improvement, you’ll get information on what efficiency improvements are going to help and learn more about how to prioritize the improvements. If your plant is efficient enough, you can save as much as 30% in a short time. Many facilities see improvements in just a few months.

Area electricity companies also frequently offer energy audits. You can ask your power company if they have any free energy audits available right now or coming up in the future.

Upgrade Older, Less Efficient Equipment

As you go through an energy audit, you learn what equipment is wasting the most energy. You can work with an expert in water treatment equipment to determine what equipment can help you save money and improve your water treatment process. What equipment should you consider?

A good rule of thumb is to look at the age of all of your equipment. Older pumps and motors are going to use more energy. Once you’ve come up with a chart of this information, consider which machines are down for repairs the most. You need to prioritize those. Here are the items that you should consider first.

1. Heat Pumps

Heat pumps recover the heat generated during the wastewater treatment cycle and use that heat to preheat water sent to boilers where it requires less energy to heat enough for a heating system or hot water usage. Heat pumps can also help cool your building in hot weather.

2. Variable Speed Drives

Variable speed drives are available on a lot of wastewater treatment equipment. If you have equipment that is just on or off with no change of speed throughout the day, it’s time to change that.

Your district’s wastewater flow rates increase when people come home from work, have dinner, and do the dishes. They’ve been out of the house all day, so it’s been relatively quiet. But, now that they’re using water for meals and cleaning up, doing the laundry, and taking baths or showers before bed, water usage increases, and that means water is coming into your plant faster.

Variable speed drives adjust for these increases. If water isn’t flowing in very quickly from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., drives could turn off until they’re needed for higher flow rates in the morning rush to get ready for work or school. They turn off again in the late mornings and afternoons when people are not home. That saves energy and wear and tear on your pumps and other motors.

You’ll also find variable speed drives on a screw pump. These pump liquid from one area to another without easily clogging. Open screw pumps can be up to 75% more efficient while operating and also require less maintenance, which also helps slash your bills. Type C enclosed screw pumps are up to 10% more efficient than open screw pumps.

3. Submersible Mixers

A submersible mixer stirs up the wastewater in an anaerobic tank while reducing energy consumption. A stainless-steel propeller delivers high flow rates without needing extra electricity to run the motor.

4. LED Lighting

If your plant has older fluorescent lighting, that type of lighting uses far more energy than efficient LED lighting. Switch to LED, which can be up to 90% more efficient, and see savings on your next bill. The switch to LED won’t cost a lot of money, and some power companies offer rebates and other incentives to help you make the switch.

In addition to LED lighting, consider adding motion sensors that detect when someone has left a room. This way, if a worker forgets to turn off the lights, it won’t matter. The lights will turn off automatically when there’s no movement in the room.

Tap Into Renewable Energy

If your plant isn’t using solar and wind power to help generate electricity, it’s time to consider making a change. There are many programs out there to help you embrace solar, wind, and even geothermal energy for less money.

For outdoor security lights, install solar lights. They have a separate panel that powers the lights by day and runs them all night. They’re helpful as you can install them anywhere and don’t need outlets or a power source nearby.

As your renewable energy system works, you’ll find your savings end up recouping the amount you spent on the system. From there, you gain pure savings that you can reinvest in additional upgrades or use to lower rates for the members in your district. 

Talk to an Expert in Water Treatment 

You’ll find there are many ways to improve your wastewater treatment plant’s energy efficiency, but it takes research and careful planning to make the best choices for your municipality. Work with experts in water treatment. 

Lakeside Equipment has close to 100 years in the water treatment industry. Our dedicated team of sales professionals, engineers, and technicians are here to meet your needs and complete all aspects of your plant’s upgrades from planning to on-site installation. We can even get the parts you need and ship them immediately.

When your wastewater treatment equipment is efficient and repaired quickly, it keeps your bills low while making sure the environment and community are protected from improperly treated wastewater. Learn more about the upgrades you should make to boost your plant’s efficiency.

A wastewater clarifier is an important component in removing solids to start separating them from the water. It’s an important step when it comes to the first steps in removing sludge. The sludge goes to incinerators or landfills, while the liquids proceed to the next steps in wastewater treatment.

When wastewater comes into your facility, primary clarification is the first step. Suspended solids and FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease) rise to the top of the water while sludge sinks. Those solids and sludge both need to be removed. Primary clarification usually removes around 60% of suspended solids, but this success rate depends on how effective your clarifier is.

Consider These Points When Choosing a Clarifier

How do you know which clarifier is right for your needs? It comes down to the wastewater you treat. If your plant takes a large percentage of hauled septage, you might have more solids than from a small town with a sewer. In a large city, you might end up with a lot of trash or dead animals that end up in the sewers. All of this is important to consider.

• Flow Rate: How much wastewater comes into your plant each day? A city with 50,000 residents is going to have much slower flow rates than a city with a large industrial area and millions of residents. Your clarifier has to be able to handle the flow rate you experience.
• Solids Loading: Solids loading is defined as the percentage of suspended solids in your wastewater. 
• Sludge Characteristics: Sludge is a mix of solids, organic and inorganic materials, and liquids that sink to the bottom of chambers in the wastewater treatment process. If you have thicker sludge, one clarifier might work better than another option.
• Budget: Your budget is important when choosing a clarifier. If you can’t afford the equipment without drastically increasing your municipality’s rates, it’s going to be a tough sell to the people in your community. You have to stick to the budget you have and avoid going too much over it.
• Available Space: What space do you have available? Make sure the equipment you want to purchase will fit the space. Otherwise, you may need to expand or figure out another option.
• Maintenance Needs: Do you have a full-time maintenance crew devoted to going from one part of your facility to the next? If they are already struggling to keep up, a high-maintenance machine is going to add to their problems. You need to make sure the equipment is easy to maintain and won’t require additional staffing if there’s no budget or time to train new workers.

What Are the Different Types of Clarifiers?

Every wastewater treatment equipment and process solutions specialist has preferred clarification equipment. These are the options that are out there.

• Dissolved Air Floatation Clarifiers: Dissolved air floatation (DAF) or Lamella clarifiers use air to remove suspended matter from the surface of treated wastewater. It’s best for wastewater that has a high level of FOG and suspended solids. 
• Membrane Filtration: Membrane filtration, such as ultrafiltration clarifiers rely on hydrostatic pressure to push wastewater liquid against a semi-permeable membrane. That membrane collects the suspended solids.
• Sludge Blanket Clarifiers: Sludge blanket clarifiers work by having water flow upward through a sludge blanket that traps the sludge and pushes the clarified water to the top of the tank. 
• Rectangular or Circular Clarifiers: This is an important decision when it comes to space. This has less to do with the function of the clarifier than it does with the shape and size. Rectangular clarifiers are smaller and take less space, often no more than 10 feet in length and no more than 20 feet deep. Circular clarifiers are larger and handle more liquids. Expect circular clarifiers to range in size from 10 to 300 feet upwards of 16 feet deep.

Work With an Expert in Wastewater Treatment to Get the Best Clarifier

Lakeside Equipment has been helping cities and towns have cleaner water for close to 100 years. We offer three clarifiers that are certain to do everything you need and even better than you might imagine. They’re essential components for cleaning industrial wastewater, potable water treatment, and wastewater treatment.

Full-Surface Skimming:

Full-surface skimming is a peripheral-feed system where floating materials are caught in the clarifier’s outer skirt and main settling area. This is an effective way to remove scum and floating materials, but it may not do as much as sludge that sinks. The ducking skimmer is a good choice for low-budget wastewater facilities.

There are two types of full-surface skimmers to help with clarifying: a  Full-Surface Ducking System or a Motorized Full-Surface Skimmer. 

The Full-Surface Ducking System is affordable and uses scraper arms to remove floating materials to a scum trough. A Motorized Full-Surface Skimmer covers the entire width of the clarifier surface and uses a motor to rotate the arm while pushing floating materials to a rotating scum trough.

Spiraflo Clarifier: 

The Spiraflo is a peripheral feed clarifier used to remove suspended solids in a primary, secondary, or tertiary clarification system. Wastewater enters the outer ring where it travels in a ring formed by an outer wall and skirt. The spiral flow travels towards a settling area where clarified water is forced upward to a weir while solids remain in a sludge blanket. 

Key benefit: Tests prove that peripheral-feed spiral clarifiers perform 2x to 4x better than center-feed clarifiers.

Spiravac Clarifier:

The Spiravac is a peripheral feed clarifier for the best possible solids removal through the use of suction to rapidly return active sludge to the beginning of the process. Wastewater enters a channel formed by an outer wall and skirt. Sludge is directed to the center of the tank where it is removed using suction and sludge removal pipes or a rotating manifold located in the center. While this happens, the clarified water rises and goes into a weir to go to the next steps in wastewater treatment.

Key Benefits: Workers can control the flow of sludge that’s been removed, and the process takes place faster than with other clarifiers.

Which is best for your needs? It depends on your current system’s design and footprint. If you’re short on space, you may need a system that fits a smaller area. Work with Lakeside Equipment to figure out the best clarifier for your wastewater treatment plant.

Our team of salespeople and engineers work with you to ensure your water treatment system does everything you want in the most affordable way possible. After your system is installed our parts and service team are there to help you keep your system working perfectly through the years. Reach out to us to learn more about our clarifiers and how they’ll help you get cleaner water.

Clarifiers play an important role in wastewater treatment, but they also use a lot of energy. Primary and secondary stages consume the most electricity in a plant. If you stop and think about the fact that 25% to 40% of a wastewater treatment plant’s annual budget covers annual electricity bills, the importance of energy efficiency is clear.

It’s estimated that the nation’s plants use around 30 terawatt hours of electricity combined. That accounted for around $2 billion. Finding ways to cut costs is important for the environment and the people in your district. Rising costs put a strain on household budgets, so people don’t want to hear their water bills are skyrocketing as well.

A Quick Look at How Wastewater Treatment Is Handled

Take a closer look at the basics of a wastewater treatment plant. Plants often have different needs based on the businesses and residential homes in the municipality. A plant that accepts septage needs to have a place for trucks to pump out their trucks after pumping out a residential or business septic tank. A city wastewater treatment plant in an industrial area will have other requirements. All of this determines the best wastewater treatment plant design and equipment. The processes are similar, however.

Wastewater enters a treatment plant and goes through two key stages, primary and secondary treatments. Sometimes, a tertiary treatment is added to help chemicals kill harmful bacteria.

In the primary stage, solids settle and are pumped out as sludge. Screens remove other solids like plastic wrappers, applicators, baby wipes, sticks, etc., and those materials are removed to containers to go to landfills, incinerators, or compost facilities. The main steps in primary treatment are:

• Screening/trash rakes
• Grit removal
• Sedimentation/clarification

After this, the wastewater enters secondary treatment. In the secondary stage, wastewater goes through a biological process to further break down materials and purify the wastewater until it’s safe enough to send to a water treatment plant that prepares the water for household use or is released to a lake, stream, or other body of water.

It’s filtered through trickling filters or enters tanks for the activated sludge process. It’s aerated and sludge settles and is returned to the start of that process. The remaining water travels into a sedimentation tank or clarifier and may undergo chemical disinfection in a third stage. That chlorine will be reduced to safe levels before it’s released.

Because some plants have to deal with heavy metals, PCBs, and other pollutants, other steps may be required. Some components in a wastewater treatment plant use the flow of the water to move things from one point to the next, but other components require a lot of electricity. Plus, you have the lighting, heat, cooling, and computers within a plant adding to the energy consumption.

Why Do Clarifiers Drive Up Energy Costs?

If you’re looking specifically at some of the equipment that accounts for the majority of a plant’s electricity consumption, clarifiers are on the list. What makes them consume a lot of energy?

Water enters a clarifying tank to travel in a circular motion, similar to a whirlpool flow. However, the tank has hydraulic scrapers that help push sludge to the center where it is pumped out. Pumps and scrapers run around the clock to rid the wastewater of as much sludge as possible, so the energy use is constant. 

At the same time, scum collects on the surface. Scum consists of lightweight, floating materials like foam and fats, oils, and grease (FOG). This scum is removed by a race skimmer that continually circles the surface and pushes the scum to the “scum pipe” where it’s removed. Again, a motorized skimmer runs continually, which also increases energy consumption.

There’s another problem with an inefficient clarifier. Not only does it consume a lot of energy, but that energy increases greenhouse emissions, which isn’t ideal. Plus, you might find your plant struggling to keep up with the demand as new homes and businesses go up. Many plants are already at 81% capacity or worse. About 15% have exceeded or reached maximum capacity. An efficient plant solves that problem.

How Can You Improve the Energy Usage of Primary and Secondary Clarifiers and Your Plant?

Once you’ve pinpointed what equipment runs constant and consumes the most energy, you can start looking for ways to increase energy efficiency in your wastewater treatment plant. 

Upgrade older equipment:

One of the first steps is to look at the age of your mixers and pumps. Older equipment is going to use more energy. 

With eyes looking for ways to make mechanical and electrical equipment as energy-efficient as possible, newer pumps and mixers consume less energy while doing the same work. Plus, newer pumps and mixers require less maintenance and repair, so you’ll also save money on those expenses. 

It’s worth looking into any grants or energy-efficiency tax credits you gain by upgrading your wastewater equipment. Even a low-interest loan for energy-efficient upgrades becomes a great way to lower your operating costs.

If you’re working with older equipment, it’s a good time to research high-efficiency clarifier designs. Dissolved air floatation systems remove FOG, suspended solids, and metals well, but it does require training. Invest in your employees as it will pay off in the long run. 

Variable speed drives on your facility’s pumps and mixers also ease the strain and energy consumption by scaling back when wastewater flow rates decrease and ramping back up when they pick up again, usually in the morning when people are getting ready for school or work.

Maintain and inspect equipment on a schedule:

Ensure your equipment is maintained and repaired before a small problem turns into a major one. Set up a routine for maintenance around your treatment plant and make sure the tasks on that list are completed on schedule. 

Automate your plant:

Do you use a SCADA system that allows computer analytics to monitor wastewater treatment processes and flow rates? Computer systems can adjust equipment without needing someone right there. SCADA automates pumps, valves, filtration systems, UV lighting if that’s used in your plant’s disinfection process, chemical levels, tank levels, and flow rates. The SCADA system can alert the appropriate person if there’s an issue. 

Look into renewable energy:

Finally, look into renewable energy sources like wind power and solar power. Even the methane produced during wastewater treatment is a viable energy source for powering your plant and heating your buildings.

Work with a professional in wastewater treatment equipment:

Arrange a consultation with experts in energy-efficient wastewater treatment plant designs and equipment. If you’re looking for cost-effective ways to make clarification energy efficient, Lakeside Equipment can help.

Our company has been in the business for close to 100 years, and our engineers and designers are experts in saving money on energy consumption. Lakeside Equipment offers several different clarifiers to match our clients’ needs. We’re happy to help you figure out how to make improvements that fit your budget and plant needs.

With a new year come new laws and regulations. It also comes with new trends and technological advancements in the world of wastewater treatment. What are some of the improvements and changes in sludge screening that Lakeside Equipment is watching?

Law and Regulation Changes in 2024

In January 2024, the EPA is holding two public hearings on a proposal affecting meat processing plant wastewater. The EPA wants to impose stiffer restrictions on nitrogen limits and establish regulations on phosphorus. Oil and grease filters will be required to remove FOG from processing plant wastewater. 

Other limitations on high-salt wastewater and higher levels of E. coli bacteria are also being considered. The goal is to lower the pollutants municipal wastewater treatment plants deal with.

Certain states have their own wastewater regulation changes happening in 2024.

• California – Water agencies are now allowed to recycle wastewater for use as drinking water in schools, homes, and businesses.
• Florida – Florida’s HB 1379 bans the use of a septic system from all but rural homes. Homeowners must connect to the local sewer system or install their own on-site nutrient-reducing water treatment system.
• North Carolina – On-site wastewater rules are changing, and one of the biggest is that the local health department now has some say in any improvement permit or construction project, including septic systems.

How will any of this affect sludge screening? Sludge screens help remove solids from wastewater before it moves to the next process in wastewater treatment. When people consider what they’re flushing, it helps wastewater treatment plants avoid unnecessary clogs and equipment wear and tear.

Changes and Improvements in Technology

Each year brings better technology and improvements in wastewater treatment equipment like sludge screening. With automation, the system can track increased flow rates and adjust motors and pumps as needed. They can increase or decrease the amount of chemicals used after analyzing the current water quality. 

Predictive maintenance eliminates sudden breakdowns that take parts of your system down for emergency repairs. Sealed oil within motors and components that are above the water level also makes repairs and maintenance easier than ever.

Here are nine products we offer that provide sludge screening benefits.

Raptor Complete Plant

Grit removal is an important part of wastewater treatment as it keeps items like bone fragments, coffee grounds, and sand from damaging components or clogging lines. A Raptor Complete Plant screens waste through a screw that pushes the dewatered waste through the chute. It also has a grit chamber for grit removal.

Raptor FalconRake Bar Screen

The FalconRake Bar Screen resembles a ladder. As wastewater enters the chamber, the steps of the bar screen capture solids and travel to the top of the ladder where they are deposited over the side. The bars then go back down to repeat the process. As this sludge screening equipment is vertical, it doesn’t require a lot of space. It’s ideal for fast removal of debris and high amounts of sludge.

Raptor Fine Screen

The bottom of the fine screen is a basket that spins in the wastewater collecting debris and sludge, while dewatering and compacting the waste matter in one system. Sludge travels up a chute to the collection bin. It uses a dual spray wash system to ensure organic matter remains in the wastewater flow, and rake teeth clean the screens to prevent jams and clogs.

Raptor Micro Strainer

The Raptor Micro Strainer is a system with a screw that screens, washes, compacts, and dewaters sludge and solids in one smaller system, which makes it a good choice for smaller facilities. As wastewater flows into the chamber, it draws sludge up the screw and is screened. 

A spray wash system keeps organic matter in the wastewater flow. Wastewater presses out of it, and the solids and sludge continue up the transport tube to a bin where it can become compost, head to incinerators, or go to a landfill.

Raptor Multi-Rake Bar Screen

The Raptor Multi-Rake Bar Screen is a vertical sludge screening rake that captures waste in the rake bars, brings them to the top for depositing into a container, and returns to get more. It’s a low-maintenance sludge screening option with rake teeth to help clean each bar while it’s in use.

Raptor Rotating Drum Screen

In districts where the amount of sludge is high, a rotating drum screen is helpful. A large basket sits in the bottom of the tank and captures sludge in screens that range in size from 0.02 to 0.25 inches. Like other systems, the sludge is compacted, dewatered, and pushed up the chute to a bin for composting, incinerating, or hauling to a landfill. It can reduce volumes by 50% and the weight of sludge by as much as 67%, which saves money.

Raptor Rotary Strainer Screen

Wastewater flows into a tank where there’s a rotating screen with mesh ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 inches. The cylinder sits horizontally and captures sludge while ensuring wastewater continues to the next steps through the opening below the screens. The blade assembly automatically cleans itself as waste leaves the chute and travels to a collection bin on the opposite side of the influent area. 

Raptor Septage Acceptance Plant

For wastewater districts that take septage from residential septic systems, the process of pumping septage from trucks, screening, washing, dewatering, and removing sludge at once is essential. A septage acceptance plant does that. Our system can accept two trucks to empty their loads at the same time.

Raptor Septage Complete Plant

In areas where the amount of fats, oils, and grease are high, such as a community where restaurants aren’t on sewer lines, our Septage Complete Plant is designed to handle high levels of sludge, leachate, FOG, and industrial waste. While screening sludge, it also handles grit removal.

Planning for Weather-Related Hurdles

If the past year showed anything, it’s that there is an incredible need to be proactive and plan for the unexpected. Historic flooding hit Vermont not once but twice, and one of those flooding events hit in December when snow is more likely. Instead, over a dozen of the state’s wastewater treatment plants dealt with sewage overflows. Flow rates were up to eight times more than normal because of days of rain.

Vermont is just one of many states where some wastewater treatment plants are still connected to storm drains. When rain hits, it flows into storm drains and straight into sewers where it floods treatment plants and strains the infrastructure. Adjusting for these flow rate increases is important, but you also need screens that can handle the increase.

When did you last have your system assessed? If your equipment is decades old, it’s time to analyze your facility’s current flow rates, what happens when there is heavy snow or rain, and how you can make improvements that ensure your system isn’t overwhelmed.

Talk to Lakeside Equipment’s experts about the latest technology in sludge screening. Our water treatment business is getting close to 100 years in business, and we are experts in the effects of changing weather patterns, the most cost-effective upgrades, and energy-efficiency measures that end up covering the cost of the upgrades you choose. Reach us online or send an email to let us know how we can help your wastewater treatment facility become more efficient and effective.

The Encyclopedia of Ecology defines biological wastewater treatment as a process where “organisms assist in environmental cleanup through their own life-sustaining activities.” Instead of treating water with chemicals, algae, beneficial bacteria, fungi, metazoan, and protozoa are all microorganisms used to feed on the organic material, which is important to their lifecycle and also helps clean the water.

But, as microorganisms eat these materials, they produce methane and carbon dioxide. The resulting odors make it a less-than-desirable process for anyone living downwind of a wastewater treatment facility. This is a leading reason pH control is an important part of biological wastewater treatment.

The Benefits of pH Control in Biological Wastewater Treatment

A balanced or neutral pH is 7.0, but pH can range from 0 to 14. If it is higher than 7.0, wastewater is acidic and needs to be lowered. If it’s over 7.0, it’s alkaline and needs to be lowered. 

Before treatment begins, raw wastewater usually has a pH as low as 6 or as high as 8. When it’s high, it’s often caused by too much algae growth in open wastewater lagoons or the wastewater is already high because of industries that use lime, lye, or sodium hydroxide.

A low pH is often because of high ammonia levels. It’s the most common problem wastewater facilities face when they use activated sludge systems. By making sure you keep the pH balanced, your plant benefits in several ways. 

Heightened Efficiency

Plants with a healthy pH work efficiently. They’re less likely to run into imbalances that require extra effort to repeat water treatment steps to remove extra sludge, increase aeration, and grow healthy colonies of microorganisms. You treat water faster, better, and more cost-effectively.

Reduced Sludge Production

When your wastewater has a balanced pH, sludge production lowers and sludge disposal costs drop. You have less sludge to compost, incinerate, or haul to a landfill, which means you save money.

Improved Removal of Organic Matter

Healthy microorganisms remove more organic matter. When water is treated quickly, it lowers your energy consumption and saves your plant money. You’re also not releasing treated water to area lakes, streams, and rivers before it’s safe, which can lead to massive fines for raw sewage releases.

You’re not sacrificing quality for savings. You get both, which makes everyone happy.

Compliance With EPA Regulations

When a permit is issued, every wastewater treatment plant has EPA standards they must meet before releasing treated water to a water treatment plant for reuse or to a local body of water. If you’re not in compliance, the EPA can issue fines.

Fines for negligent violations range from $2,500 to $25,000 per day and up to a year in prison for the first violation or two years and up to $50,000 from the second year on. 

Intentional violations have fines of $5,000 to $50,000 per day and a 3-year sentence. Subsequent violations increase the fines to as much as $100,000 per day.

If a wastewater treatment plant violates its limits due to the acts of an industry that violated pre-treatment, the industrial business can be fined. It’s just as important for a company to pre-treat any industrial wastewater. In 2023, a beef processing plant in Nebraska paid $275,000 in fines for failing to properly treat its wastewater before releasing it. This wasn’t the first time, the company paid $1.2 million in fines in 2011.

What Happens if You Don’t Control Your Wastewater’s pH?

A lot can go wrong when you’re not monitoring and correcting your wastewater’s pH.  The microorganisms you use will slow down and grow at a slower pace. That allows harmful bacteria to increase their activity. As the balance of microorganisms and bacteria become imbalanced, your wastewater treatment plant loses stability. You’ll end up having to start over to have a thriving colony of microbes again.

Because your microorganisms aren’t thriving, organic matter and pollutants aren’t effectively removed from your wastewater. Sludge increases and becomes harder to get out of the wastewater, as it doesn’t settle as quickly.

Imbalanced pH levels can also corrode your equipment and damage your municipality’s infrastructure. It also puts area waterways at risk of contamination and problems with algal blooms, which harm the wildlife and aquatic life.

Plus, you face the fines from the EPA as listed above. Having properly treated wastewater is important before you release wastewater into a lake, ocean, or other body of water. You need a system that works quickly, correctly, and handles higher flow rates.

The EPA fined a Massachusetts wastewater treatment plant $200,000 for combined sewer overflows when heavy rain increased flow rates. As they’d been fined back in 1988 for the same issue, they must spend $200 million to separate their sewer and stormwater runoff systems. 

Tips for Maintaining Proper pH Control 

How do you ensure you have the right pH in every stage of wastewater treatment? There are several things to do. It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation. Your wastewater treatment plant’s flow rates and contaminants play a role. A wastewater treatment plant dealing with mainly residential wastewater will have different needs than one surrounded by restaurants and businesses.

Add Acids or Alkalis 

When the pH is too high, acids need to be added. Plants may use carbon dioxide or sulfuric acid to lower the pH. If the pH is too low, lime or caustic soda are possible additions.

Add Buffering Agents 

Once the pH levels are balanced, they need to be stabilized. This is done with chemicals like carbonates or phosphates. Ideally, you want to take steps that stabilize pH from the start. Optimizing wastewater treatment processes is ideal.

Implement Real-Time pH Measurements 

Plant automation saves a lot of time and hassle. Look into sensors that continually measure pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and other important aspects listed in your EPA permits. When you have real-time information on your wastewater’s quality, it’s easy to take corrective measures to maintain proper pH control.

Optimize Your Plant’s Processes

Instead of needing to use things like lime or sulfuric acid, optimize your plant. Aeration, organic loading, and establishing healthy levels of nutrients are important. This requires having the best equipment with aerators, real-time monitoring, screening, and filtration. 

If you’re aiming for a functioning, effective biological wastewater system, you need the best equipment for the job. Talk to Lakeside Equipment, experts in clean water, to find out what your plant is doing well and what will help ensure your pH levels remain balanced and keep your system in perfect order.

Water treatment structures date back to the years BC. Records in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit writings go back as far as 4000 BC detailing the steps used to clean and treat water. They’d boil or expose the water to sunlight and filter it through charcoal to remove odors and unpleasant tastes and make it clear instead of cloudy. Ancient Egyptians’ records showed they’d use alum to settle cloudy water. 

Those are the earliest recorded methods used to treat water. Technology has changed a lot over that time. Wastewater treatment plants have come a long way. Take a closer look at the evolution of wastewater treatment over the centuries.

Filtration Becomes a Popular Option for Removing Particles

While the Ancient Romans and Egyptians may have been the first to focus on filtration, the method of filtration would change over the years. 

To treat water, you had to also look at turbidity. What is turbidity? It’s a measurement of particles like organics, sediment, etc. in water. When water is turbid, it’s cloudier. 

In the 1800s, Europeans used sand, which was readily available, to filter water. Cholera outbreaks in the 1800s would raise the awareness of needing more than filtration as microscopic organisms, bacteria, and viruses weren’t always caught with filters.

This was especially important in 1855 when Dr. John Snow proved cholera was a waterborne illness. Louis Pasteur also demonstrated this when he demonstrated how microscopic organisms passed through things like milk and water, leading to pasteurization. Filtration wasn’t enough. 

Facilities for Treating Wastewater Were Also Necessary

Filtering wastewater was only a small part of the process. As past generations learned, there also had to be a way to get wastewater to that facility and ponds, vats, or pools that would store the wastewater while it was treated. This led to advancements in the structures used for treating the water. 

The Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus were the first culture known to have indoor plumbing. They had terracotta pipes that led from buildings to brick-lined drain ditches in the city, where waste went into underground tunnels and back into the environment. The problem was that no one at that time understood the impact this untreated sewage had on the soil and water supplies in the area.

The Rise of Pollution in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Getting back to the Indus, it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that people understood the issues surrounding untreated sewage returning to rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. As urbanization increased people flocked to cities for work. 

You’ve probably heard of the past when people used buckets instead of a working toilet and emptied those buckets into channels along the road. Eventually, all of that waste ended up in rivers. The Thames in London was one of them. 

Wastewater from industries also ended up in the Thames, but the tributaries leading to the Thames were where Londoners and outlying communities gathered their drinking water. Essentially, people were drinking sewage water and making themselves sick with diseases like cholera and typhoid. Better wastewater treatment systems became an urgency.

The Metropolis Water Act was passed in 1952, which banned the use of water from the Thames. People and water delivery companies had to start sourcing water from other areas. The use of sand and crushed shells was also required as a means to purify water. But, it didn’t stop the “Great Stink of 1858.” All of the waste in the Thames heated up during an unusually hot summer. The city reeked of raw sewage, which spurred the need for a better solution.

In 1865, London’s first wastewater treatment plant was built. It used gravity to settle waste in the water so that those solids could then be removed before the water went into the Thames. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. 

As science learned more about raw sewage, the need for biological treatments came into play. The activated sludge process, which is still used today, was established in 1914. Microorganisms were used to help feed on the organic matter in wastewater and help break it down more quickly. 

The First Laws Regarding Wastewater Hit the U.S.

While other countries went through their own woes regarding wastewater, the U.S. watched the population grow as people left Europe for America. Per the 1900 Census, the population reached 76.3 million that year. New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio were the most populous states at that time. Wastewater issues were arising and regulations were needed. Therefore, the U.S. passed The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948

Surprisingly, the first major law in the U.S. didn’t pass until 1948, but it wasn’t as good as it needed to be, so drastic changes were made to it in 1972. Renamed The Clean Water Act, it set national regulations for the release of wastewater into U.S. waters. It handed the EPA the authority to establish pollution control standards and programs. It finally made it illegal for people to discharge wastewater without a valid permit, and cities wanting to build wastewater treatment plants had construction grants available.

The Future of Wastewater Treatment

Where is the future heading? The environment is a driving factor in wastewater treatment. With water pollution a problem in the world’s streams, ponds, rivers, lakes, and oceans posing a risk to animals, aquatic creatures, and the environment, wastewater treatment has to be done correctly, quickly, and efficiently. Problematic raw sewage dumps from flooding are problematic and have to be addressed. 

To address these problems, researchers are looking at a few specific areas of water treatment operations.

Advanced Treatment Requirements

You’ve probably heard about microplastics. These tiny particles of plastic are being found on everything from bees to the blood of humans. There are also PCBs, a manmade forever chemical that is tied to cancer and developmental issues in fetuses and children.

Finding a way to remove microplastics from wastewater is important, but it has to be done cost-effectively, and the treatments used have to get as much microplastic and PCBs as possible, which can be a big hurdle to overcome.

Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and Smart Technology

Artificial intelligence, AI for short, automation, and smart technology are certain to play a big role in helping wastewater treatment plants optimize their performance and lower energy consumption. With smart technology, operators won’t have to drop everything to go check on settings or test results, they could be doing a hands-on task and get insights through voice commands. 

AI and automation can analyze and make immediate adjustments without needing a wastewater treatment plant operator to drop everything and go adjust settings. It will be possible for engineers to get reports when they’re off-duty. If there’s an emergency, they’ll get a notification. Otherwise, the AI technology and automated system monitors and adjusts to optimize performance.

Pre-Treatment for Industries

Industrial wastewater from manufacturing plants, food processors, and even breweries strains wastewater treatment plants. The extra work needed to treat that wastewater takes more time, energy, and money. 

In some communities, it’s becoming a concern and measures are being taken to prevent this additional strain. Smaller on-site wastewater treatment plants are being required to pre-treat water before it goes to the sewers. Grease traps in restaurants also help.

Expanding the use of treated wastewater for irrigation, industrial processes, and even drinking water after further treatment.

Reuse

Across the country, some areas are running out of drinking water. The reuse of wastewater is going to be the future. Some communities are already doing this with great success. Sewer water goes through wastewater treatment and travels to a water treatment section where it’s purified for use as drinking water and typical household use for laundry, showers/baths, and cooking.

Wastewater treatment plants keep evolving, and the introduction of automation and AI to the equipment is expected to make wastewater treatment more efficient and effective. With this technology carefully monitoring flow rates, storm patterns, and processes, energy consumption decreases, which drives down the cost of treating water, which your community will appreciate. Plus, the risks of raw sewage releases decrease, which is better for the environment.

Embrace the future of wastewater treatment by working with an expert. Lakeside Equipment has been helping clean water for close to a century. You won’t find a company with more expertise and insights into cleaning water effectively and efficiently. Talk to Lakeside Equipment about the improvements that set your facility up for the future.

In the U.S. alone, there are over 16,000 publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities. Those plants treat around 34 billion of wastewater every day. Yes, that’s billions, not millions, per day. About 75% of U.S. households have their sewage treated at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, and the heart of any treatment process is to separate the water from the waste products. 

It’s clear what happens with water once it’s cleaned and meets EPA guidelines for release back to a water source or water treatment plant for household use, but what about the sludge? Where do the solids end up? It comes down to integrated approaches between wastewater clarifiers and sludge management.

Wastewater Clarifiers: Understanding Their Role in Wastewater Treatment

When wastewater enters a facility from sewer lines or septage haulers, it’s a messy mix of solids, water, and even trash. Solids like plastic, flushable wipes, food particles, lint, dirt/grit, toilet paper, and feces have to be separated. 

Trash rakes can remove items like plastic applicators, toys that children flush without realizing how bad that is, and other pieces of trash. This equipment can also capture things like bones of animals that died in the sewers or that came in from food manufacturing plants.

The remaining wastewater continues to clarifiers where filters capture solids and sludge sinks to the bottom for easier removal. The remaining water moves to additional treatment steps. There are also different clarifiers:

Primary:

Primary treatment begins with sewage entering the plant and passing through screens and trash rakes. It then moves to a grit chamber to remove items like pebbles, sand, and other gritty particles that could damage seals and mechanical aspects of the wastewater treatment equipment. 

Secondary:

Secondary treatment is beneficial for removing some of the harmful contaminants and nutrients found in wastewater. Wastewater may pass through trickling filters to help capture some of the pollutants, bacteria, and chemical hazards. PCBs are a newer concern.

Another aspect of secondary treatments is the use of activated sludge, which adds oxygen and encourages microorganisms to digest some of the tiny particles of sludge, which speeds up the treatment process. 

Tertiary:

It used to be that primary and secondary clarification processes were enough. That’s no longer the case. Tertiary is used to help remove non-biodegradable pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus. This is especially important as those two items are known for increasing the growth of algal blooms in lakes, rivers, and other water sources. Algal blooms harm fish and wildlife.

Tertiary clarification also helps remove dissolved salts, heavy metals, parasites, and viruses that secondary clarification measures couldn’t remove. 

As sludge settles throughout the clarification process, you have all of that sludge and solids that must be managed. This is where a sludge management plan is essential.

Sludge Management: Regulatory Concerns and How It’s Managed

All wastewater treatment plants have a permit from the EPA that regulates the amount of different minerals, chemicals, and metals that can remain in the water that’s released. Staying within these limits is essential for avoiding fines. The same requirements are in place for any sludge. 

Sludge ends up being used in one of three ways. Some plants send it to landfills where it joins other trash. It can be composted and eventually used to provide nutrients to plants and trees in fields and forests. It can also be burned in incinerators.

With wastewater treatment, the breakdown of sludge as microorganisms feed off tiny articles does release methane. That methane can be captured and used as an alternative fuel for heating and cooling the buildings in a wastewater treatment plant, which is a great way to use the resources created from treatment processes.

When the sludge is going to be used for land application, it must first be tested to make sure that the arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, PCBs, selenium, and zinc levels do not exceed maximum concentrations.

In addition, land application requires pathogen controls to meet Class A or Class B rules. Class A applies to sludge that is applied to home gardens and lawns. Class B is only offered if the sludge fertilizer will not come into contact with food crops for grazing pastures for a specified period. Once a farm or ranch uses sludge as a fertilizer, it may be upwards of three years before anything is allowed to grow in that field, or animal fodder can be harvested from it.

In 2022, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development found that an area farm had used untreated sewage for fertilizer. The resulting crops were sold to grocery stores and directly to consumers. 

Over a dozen retailers had to tell shoppers to stop using the cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, onions, peppers, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini that the stores had sold due to the risk of e. coli, hepatitis A, norovirus, and rotavirus. That’s why it’s so important to follow EPA guidelines.

The Future of Sludge Management

With AI and automation increasing in use, it’s only going to get easier to remove as much sludge as possible and ensure that it’s managed properly. Whether you use it for power generation or sell it as fertilizer, you’ll benefit from having AI continually test and analyze results to tell you when it’s optimal to move to the next stage.

Another benefit of AI is that it can closely track flow rates and increase pumps and motors to avoid having your plant flood during a long storm or be forced to release untreated sewage into the environment. If something is wrong, AI could divert lines to ensure extra wastewater goes to holding tanks until things calm down.

For many years, other countries have used cow patties to make bricks and build homes. The reuse of purified sludge as concrete filler, concrete aggregates, and brick-making materials is another trending use. It’s an eco-friendly way to use sludge and stop taking up valuable space in landfills.

The Best Approaches For Integrating Clarification and Sludge Management

When you’re establishing a wastewater treatment facility or upgrading your equipment, you want to make sure you follow the EPA’s guidelines. You also need to follow state regulations. It’s best to work with experts in wastewater management equipment to ensure you’re creating a feasible, efficient, cost-effective system that removes sludge as quickly as possible and uses that sludge as a valuable resource.

It’s also best to work with manufacturers and industrial plants to ensure they’re pre-treating wastewater. It reduces the burden on your plant. If you have three poultry processing plants nearby, the number of bone fragments, feathers, and fatty tissue will drive up water treatment costs, which makes locals unhappy as rates increase. Make sure area businesses are doing their part.

As weather patterns keep shifting and leading to storms of unprecedented levels, wastewater treatment plant owners and operators need solutions that separate sludge and treat wastewater quickly and effectively. Raw sewage releases during heavy rainfall aren’t good for the environment’s animals, people, and aquatic life. 

Make sure your plant is ready for the future. Recover valuable resources, protect the planet, and do all of this while reducing overall costs. Lakeside Equipment can help you develop a sustainable, efficient sludge management process. With close to 100 years in water treatment, we have the insights and equipment your plant needs for optimal performance.

According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, the U.S. has 16,000 public wastewater treatment systems. In addition, the EPA estimates that over 20% of U.S. households are on an individual septic system or community cluster system. The wastewater that comes from these systems requires careful treatment to remove pathogens, pollutants, and solid waste. 

When a wastewater treatment facility gets wastewater from the sewer system or trucks that pump it out of septic tanks, it needs to be screened to remove plastic and other hard waste like branches, bones, etc. It must have the sludge and fats/oils/grease (FOG) removed, and the remaining wastewater must be carefully tested until it meets EPA guidelines. Only then can it return to a body of water or water treatment plant for reuse. 

Wastewater clarification and sanitizing is essential to prevent the spread of disease. It also prevents contamination in lake and river water, which can help algae blooms thrive and harm aquatic animals and animals that use that water for swimming or drinking. It keeps bacteria from entering into the meat of shellfish that people eat. To make sure water is clarified correctly, water treatment plants use mechanical or chemical clarification, and each has pros and cons.

How Does Mechanical Clarification Work?

Mechanical clarifiers are tanks where wastewater settles after passing through filters that capture solids like fat deposits, menstrual products, plastic wrappers, etc. Skimmers run over the top of the tank in continual circles picking up floating waste, while sludge is pushed to a central hopper in the bottom of the tank to be pumped out.

Water can be further treated using filters and UV treatment to remove impurities and contaminants. Activated charcoal is one filtration material, but plants have also had success with coconut fibers, sand, and peat.

Pros and Cons:

• Pro – It’s simple and doesn’t require fluctuating levels of chemical additives.
• Pro – It can be twice as fast.
• Pro – It’s one of the most cost-effective options, especially in areas where people are already stretched thin financially.
• Pro – It’s better for the environment as no chemicals are being used.
• Con – Produces more sludge that must then be managed.
• Con – Lightweight particles may be harder to capture.
• Con – Clarifier tanks take up more space, which can be hard in areas where there is limited land.

How Does Chemical Clarification Work?

Chemical clarification involves the use of a chemical to cause suspended particles to clump together, which forms larger solids that float to the surface. That makes them easier to remove because they settle faster than small particles. 

With chemical clarification, processes known as coagulation and flocculation take place. The chemical additives, such as caustic soda, lime, iron, aluminum salts, and polymers are mixed in causing the suspended particles to coagulate. As they bind (flocculation) the larger clusters, called flocs, float to the surface for easier removal. This method also has pros and cons.

• Pro – The floating suspended solids are easily removed, which leads to cleaner water.
• Pro – A smaller footprint is needed, which is good if your plant has limited space.
• Pro – It’s better at capturing tiny particles that often get missed in mechanical clarification because they bind together.
• Con – Costs more than mechanical due to the cost of chemicals, and an increase in incoming wastewater will require quick adjustments to the amount of chemicals used, so costs can increase as workers put in more hours and increase the use of chemicals.
• Con – It’s a more complex process, which means wastewater treatment plant operators may need extra training.
• Con – The chemicals can be harmful to the environment, so they must be removed before treated wastewater’s release and carefully handled if there is an accidental spill.
• Con – The amount of sludge increases, so you have to have a sludge management plan in place.

Which Method Is Best for Your Municipality?

Which is best for your wastewater treatment facility? Consider these five points.

The Characteristics of the Wastewater Your Facility Treats

What are the main qualities and characteristics of the wastewater you treat? Chemical clarification is considered to do a better job of removing contaminants like heavy metals. If you treat a larger volume of industrial wastewater, it’s something to consider.

Your Municipality’s Budgetary Constraints

As is true in most of life, you have to consider the budget. While you might prefer the idea of chemical clarification, consider the costs of both options and the average salaries of people in your municipality. If you drastically increased water and sewer bills, could they afford it or would they be at risk of financial hardship?

The Discharge Standards You Need to Meet

When you are permitted to operate a wastewater treatment plant, the EPA’s permit has discharge standards you must meet. If you fail at that requirement, the fines can be steep. Consider which of the two clarification methods ensures you meet those standards in the most cost-effective manner possible.

The Size of Your Plant and Availability of Additional Land

How much land does your facility have? If you opt for mechanical clarification, the tanks take up space. As new homes are built and businesses come in, new equipment may become necessary to keep up with the increased flow rates. Do you have the space available for new clarifiers? If you don’t have a lot of space, mechanical clarification might not be feasible.

Your Area’s Environmental Concerns

What are some of the concerns already impacting the environment in your area? As you release treated wastewater to rivers, lakes, the ocean, etc., you need to make sure you’re not accidentally discharging water with higher levels of dissolved salts and other chemicals used during clarification.

Finally, you have to consider environmental concerns regarding sludge. When you use chemical clarification, you’ll have more sludge. If you only have one or two landfills in the state and they’re already reaching capacity, you’d need to find another way to dispose of the sludge to avoid straining other city and town services. 

You could consider incinerating it or processing it for fertilizer, but that’s more work, which means more staff, and that can mean higher costs for your district. You have to consider all of that when determining the best option for your community and budgetary constraints.

Lakeside Equipment has been in the water clarification field for close to 100 years. Reach us online or over the phone to discuss your plant’s size, wastewater treatment needs, and your community’s budget. We’re experts in wastewater treatment processes and equipment and can help you find an efficient, cost-effective solution.

Since their development, wastewater treatment practices have come a long way, but they also can be incredibly wasteful when it comes to energy consumption and unplanned raw sewage releases. Working on environmentally sustainable practices is essential. The less of a footprint that’s left, the better it is for future generations.

There are three goals to keep in mind when it comes to being environmentally sustainable.

• Lower energy consumption
• Lower emissions
• Increase the use of renewable resources

It’s estimated that about 80% of the world’s municipal wastewater ends up in rivers, lakes, and the ocean each year. It might happen if a sewer pipe breaks, a sewer system and stormwater runoff system are intertwined, or flooding occurs. To prevent that, wastewater treatment facilities need to treat water quickly, correctly, and with as little impact on the environment as possible. Sustainable practices and the right equipment upgrades make a big difference. That’s where the RO-TEC drum comes in.

The Environmental Concerns That Go Hand in Hand With Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment steps consume a lot of energy. While there are ways to recover some of the electricity your plant consumes, such as converting methane to usable fuel or adding solar panels, the addition of equipment that uses less energy is also beneficial.

The Department of Energy estimates that U.S. wastewater treatment plants consume over 30 terawatt-hours of electricity each year, around $2 billion annually. There are over 16,000 public wastewater treatment plants, which means each plant consumes about $125,000 in electricity yearly, and that’s just electricity. 

Add in the heating fuel or gas needed to heat a facility, any cost for air conditioning in labs and offices, and the costs of raw sewage spills from breakdowns, floods, or broken underground pipes following a deep freeze, an earthquake, or age. It’s a strain on resources and finances.

The harder you work to treat wastewater, the more energy is consumed. And that circles back to higher energy consumption and bigger bills. If you use chemicals to sanitize wastewater, there’s the risk of chemical pollution, too, so your employees have to take every possible precaution to ensure chemicals are below maximum levels before treated wastewater is released into a body of water. All of this affects the environment and your plant’s operating costs.

Other concerns for the environment come from the sludge that’s generated as you treat wastewater. The more you can screen from the wastewater in the earliest stages, the quicker it is to treat the wastewater. However, you have to have a plan in place for that sludge, too. 

Some plants incinerate it, which means the emissions from the furnaces must be carefully filtered to limit air pollution. Incineration of waste can increase greenhouse gases if filtration is not carefully monitored. This is why many plants are looking into using the methane their plants produce to use it for energy for heating or cooling their buildings.

Others haul it to landfills where any diseases mix into the decomposing trash and could put wildlife at risk. Not only that but since lined landfills became a requirement in the late-1970s, there hasn’t been enough time to determine their effectiveness. They’re fine for now, but no one knows if those liners will still be doing their job 100 years later.

What Is a RO-TEC Drum?

RO-TEC drums screen incoming wastewater using the flow of the water to begin the rotational movements of the drum screen. Because the water flow moves the drum, it doesn’t consume much electricity, which reduces demand on the grid. 

It’s also self-cleaning, which frees up workers for other important tasks. As the drum rotates, a raised scraper section thoroughly removes particles where they go into the sludge you compost, incinerate, or bring to a landfill. 

When it comes to maintenance, RO-TEC drum screens don’t require a lot of labor. They don’t wear out quickly due to the stainless-steel construction, and they require very little maintenance over time. If they do, the drive is above water level, which makes repairs and maintenance easier to manage.

One of the most common uses for RO-TEC drum screens is when pulling water from a lake or river for water treatment. The sizing of the screen protects fish and other aquatic life from getting drawn into the system. They’re versatile and work well in both water treatment and wastewater treatment.

When screening wastewater, the fine and ultra-fine screens do a better job at cleaning smaller particles, which makes them a good choice for areas where industrial wastewater is a concern. They’re often used for the pre-treatment of industrial wastewater due to their energy efficiency and pre-treating ability.

How Does It Help Boost Environment Sustainability?

RO-TEC drum screens use water flow for movement rather than electricity, which lowers energy consumption. Less energy use helps the environment. If you add renewable energy sources like solar or wind power, it further lowers the impact your facility has on the environment.

As these drum screens capture more particles with the fine or ultra-fine screening, they also clean water better from the start, which speeds up water treatment and gets it ready for other sustainable practices, such as water reuse. With water sources in some areas drying up, reuse of water is an important practice. 

People might be nervous about drinking water that comes from the sewer system. The reality is that treated wastewater that then is treated for potable water sources is just as clean as water that’s drawn from the river, ocean, or lake and turned into drinking water.

Plus, wastewater that passes through a RO-TEC drum screen is going to require fewer chemicals, if your plant uses them. More sludge and particles come out of the wastewater, making it easier to treat further down the line.

The final consideration any wastewater treatment plant board needs to consider is the cost of treating wastewater. As area residents and business owners pay for the wastewater treatment in their municipality, cost control is essential. According to a Statista study, the cost of wastewater treatment can be substantial. In 2021, the five cities with the highest wastewater treatment prices per 1,000 gallons were:

• Seattle, Washington – $21.65
• Baltimore, Maryland – $11.40
• Richmond, Virginia – $10.40
• Austin, Texas – $10.37
• Miami, Florida – $9.24

If you consider the estimate that one person produces about 100 gallons of wastewater per day, those treatment costs add up quickly. Every step you take to lower wastewater treatment costs helps the community you serve. Efficient wastewater treatment equipment and processes are the first step. Low-maintenance equipment like a RO-TEC drum screen also helps lower operating costs.

Lakeside Equipment specializes in RO-TEC drum screens and many other components that help make wastewater treatment an efficient, effective process. Reach out online or by phone to learn more.

In the U.S., municipal wastewater treatment facilities use up over 30 terawatt-hours of electricity every year. Average costs are over $2 billion. The worst part is that electricity is about 25% to 40% of a plant’s annual operating budget. Lowering energy consumption should be every municipality’s goal. 

The key to lowering energy costs in wastewater treatment is in the equipment. Spring rains can lead to problems with flooding, and any raw sewage release is going to be costly. Flowmaker mixers and pumps will do a lot to help you cut down costs and help area residents and businesses save money.

The Many Benefits of Reduced Energy Consumption

Reducing energy consumption means lower monthly bills. That’s one of the biggest benefits, and it’s one that the people in your district will appreciate. There’s more to it than just reduced electricity bills.

Maintenance Costs Decrease

When you modernize equipment, pay attention to how many pieces of equipment are above the water level. That makes it easier for maintenance workers to address issues, if and when they arise. Less maintenance means lower bills.

Reduced Impact on the Environment

The generation of electricity puts a strain on natural resources and the environment. Some plants use hydroelectricity, which benefits from the natural flow of water, but it also requires the installation of dams and equipment that can harm fish and wildlife. There are ways to lessen the impact, but these issues are still concerns you have to consider.

Older types of electricity production, such as nuclear or coal-powered plants, cause concern. Coal mining is often dangerous and can lead to illness in its workers. A mine collapse is always a risk. Plus, coal mining produces high levels of methane, which increases the risk of explosions.

Sustainable Plant Practices

When you have more efficient equipment, your plant is more sustainable. Wastewater is cleaned in a timely manner, which lowers the risk of raw sewage releases when a system is running. If you add in other beneficial measures like recycling water and recapturing methane produced during the treatment process for energy. 

Flowmaker’s Design and Features

When the goal is efficiency and lowering your plant’s carbon footprint, Flowmaker mixers and pumps are a must for all of the following reasons.

High-Efficiency Mixers:

High-efficiency Flowmaker mixers use a lot less energy by using specific flow patterns to move wastewater around for optimal mixing no matter how large or short the tank. In a sludge tank, they can move the flow effectively enough that nothing builds up in the corners. 

The impellers are also efficient and require less energy to run. Flowmaker mixers can operate so that the mixers work vertically or vertically. A horizontal mixer is going to assist with sedimentation.

Variable Speed Drives:

Variable speed drives are another benefit. When pumps and mixers run at a continuous rate, energy is wasted. You don’t want your system working at the same rate during high-peak hours as you would when people are sleeping and not running water. You waste energy. 

With variable speed drives, the pumps and mixers speed up and slow down as needed. It lessens strain on the equipment and also lowers energy consumption. Use electronic controls and even automation to adjust for changing flow rates. When you do this, you can reduce your energy consumption by as much as 50%.

Automation:

Automation and AI are all part of advancing technology that plays an important role in energy-efficient wastewater treatment processes. When there are sensors that track changes in things like flow rates and sludge, pumps and mixers turn on without human involvement. Automated systems automatically adjust Flowmaker mixers and pumps to account for these changes. This establishes processes that treat water correctly, quickly, and more efficiently than ever before. 

Lightweight Materials

Wastewater can do a lot of damage to components. Flowmaker mixers and pumps are designed to resist corrosion while also being lightweight. Because the propellers are lightweight, less energy is needed to turn them. They’re also going to last longer because they won’t rust or corrode and need replacement before you expect.

Other Considerations Your Treatment Plant Needs to Keep in Mind

The amount of energy you can save using Flowmaker mixers and pumps is dependent on several factors.

Your Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Design and Capacity

The size of your wastewater treatment plant will impact the amount of energy you save. The larger your facility, the greater the savings once you’ve incorporated Flowmaker mixers and pumps. Smaller plants may not see as much in savings, but they still will see some level of discounts on their operating expenses.

The Age of the Current Equipment

Switching older equipment to new technology will deliver cost savings. The older your equipment, the more energy it’s using. You could end up being surprised by how much lower your bills are. Plus, new Flowmaker mixers and pumps are going to do a lot more work, so you might find your treatment processes improve, which leads to faster treatment times and fewer problems with raw sewage releases.

The Type of Wastewater 

Wastewater quality also plays a role. If your district takes in a high percentage of hauled septage, you might have more solids than others. An industrial setting where there are a lot of food processing companies will also have higher levels of fats, oils, and grease. That means the mixers and pumps need to work harder.

Work With a Professional for Optimal Plant Efficiency

When you implement a Flowmaker mixer and pump features, you reduce your wastewater treatment plant’s carbon footprint by reducing the amount of energy your equipment consumes. Keep your system well maintained and enjoy a long-lasting, problem-free system that keeps lowering your electricity bills. In time, your equipment pays for itself from the savings you gain.

The U.S. Department of Energy established the Sustainable Wastewater Infrastructure of the Future SWiFt initiative. SWiFt 2.0 is the second phase that enabled another 100 wastewater treatment facilities to save up to 25% on energy costs using technology like renewable energy and resource recovery. With federal funding available for infrastructure improvements, it’s a good time to look at how to make your plant more efficient for the future.

Lakeside Equipment has other tips available to help you lower your costs while ensuring optimal wastewater treatment processes. Whether you add Flowmaker mixer and pump features or want to learn more about capturing methane to use for heating your building, we have solutions that fit your needs.