You’ve heard the term, but what is an Archimedes screw pump? How is it used in hydropower or waste treatment? Why is it called an Archimedes screw pump? Did he invent it? We have answers to all of your questions.

The Archimedes screw has been used for ages to move water from a place of lower elevation to another at a higher elevation. Originally, it was operated by hand. Today, the pumps can be powered by wind energy, solar power, or an electrical motor. They move more than water, though that was the original purpose.

Why is it called an Archimedes screw? Historians believe it’s because Archimedes, an Ancient Greek engineer, inventor, and physicist, invented the system. Not only did he develop the technology behind a screw pump, but he also created compound pulleys. How were people in those times using his screw pump?

1. It was used to continually drain water from a bilge on the Great Ship of Hieron, the King of Syracuse. Syracuse was the city in Sicily           where Archimedes was born. Onboard, one man was assigned the task of turning that screw pump to keep draining water from the ship. This screw moved water from a lower point to a higher one.
2. It became the ideal way to move water in the Nile Delta for irrigation. While crops were grown on banks high above waterways, screw pumps would draw water from the rivers to make sure crops didn’t dry up in the arid region.
3. Another early use of the Archimedes screw pump was to remove water from deep           within Egyptian mines to protect the miners. With water pumped away from them, the risk of drowning reduced as workers went underground to mine everything from copper to gold.

How Do They Work?

How does it work? Wouldn’t gravity pull the water right back to the water source? An Archimedes screw system has a large screw that sits within a cylindrical shaft or sits in an open chute. The bottom thread of the screw sits in the lower water source and scoops some water. As the crank turns the screw, the motion forces the water to propel to the next thread.

Each turn continues propelling the water further up the screw conveyor until it reaches the place where it is deposited. As long as the motion continues, the water will keep propelling to the top and get deposited to the higher area. The speed of the pump and the width of the threads help determine how much water can be moved.

Archimedes screw pumps move more than water. They can move plastic pellets, grains, sludge, and other fluid items. If an item is fluid enough to move, a screw pump with the right dimensions and pump speeds will move them from one level to the next.

Examples of Places Using Archimedes Screw Pumps

You’ve probably seen Archimedes screws at work. They’re used in snow blowers to propel the snow through the chute where it can be directed to a bank or roadside. They’re used in chocolate fountains to push the melted chocolate to the top of the fountain where it flows down the tiers and back to the heated collection pool where it travels back up and repeats the process.

You’ve likely seen farm equipment that shoots ground up corn into a farm truck where it’s transported to silos. The corn that shoots out of the raised tube reaches the top of the chute thanks to an Archimedes screw pump aka screw conveyor.

In England, there is a man-made white water rafting center called Tees Barrage. Visitors learn about white water rafting in two long courses. Four Archimedes screw pumps move close to 3,700 gallons of water each second to create the river. The pumps move the water from the lower pools to the top of the course creating close to 1,000 feet of white water before a tremendous drop. When you’re done, you can use a conveyor to follow the water back up to the top while in your raft and tackle the course all over again. As long as the pumps are doing their job, the water will keep flowing in an endless loop.

Windsor Castle’s power is supplied through Archimedes screw pumps. A 40-ton screw pump brings water from the Thames to two turbines that have gearboxes and generators to convert the energy of the water to electricity used within the Queen’s castle.

The screw pumps at Windsor Castle generate around 1.7 million kWh each year and are estimated to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1.74 million pounds. It’s a green way to bring power to a huge castle and could easily do the same for hundreds of homes. If your town or city is looking into energy-efficient hydroelectric systems to provide power to homes and businesses, screw pump turbines are a must-have.

Archimedean screw pumps are used in waste treatment plants. As the gap between the screw blades is wide, they can cut through solids without clogging. The process for cleaning sewer and septic liquids involves several steps.

Wastewater enters the plant from trucks that pump it out at homes with septic systems or through the sewer where it’s pumped into the primary settling equipment. Screens remove some of the material, such as grease chunks, where they travel by truck to landfills. Grit is removed and also taken to the landfill. The remaining sludge is pumped into aeration tanks. Additional solids are also removed by truck. The liquid goes to another settling tank before it’s disinfected and pumped out to waterways.

What about the sludge? Archimedes screw pumps help there too. The sludge is pumped into digestion tanks where resulting methane gas can be used to provide power. Water separated from the sludge continues to aeration and disinfection. The design of a water treatment plant may vary depending on a town or city’s population and the acreage your plant has available.

They can pump stormwater, drain waterlogged land, and are useful in industrial settings where water needs to move from a low area to a higher one. A screw pump can also be a big help at separating the water from the sludge.

Open vs. Enclosed Screw Pumps

What about the screw pumps themselves? What are your options? There are two types of Archimedes screw pumps. If the screw is enclosed in a pipe, it’s an enclosed screw pump. With an open screw pump, the screw sits in a concrete trough and is open to the environment.

Why would you want one over the other? Enclosed screw pumps are quicker to install. You don’t have to build the trough from concrete and wait for it to cure. You could use a steel trough instead, but there is still going to be the installation time to consider. With an enclosed screw pump, the screw is already situated in a tube. It’s a quick and easy drop-in placement, which also makes for fast replacements.

An open screw pump needs space. If your water treatment plant, hydropower plant, or other business doesn’t have a lot of acreages to work with, you’ll need equipment that takes up less space.

Enclosed screw pumps come in a choice of Type C or Type S. Type C has the screw sitting within a tube that rotates. As a result, the Type C pump can sit at an angle of up to 45 degrees, which takes up less space. Type S must be at a 22 to 40-degree incline as the tube is stationary. You can opt to mount the tube on a pivot to allow it to be raised or lowered to change the pumping rate. Other advantages are:

• Higher efficiency
• Option for drop-in replacements of older equipment
• Lower installation costs

With an open screw pump, the trough needs to be at an incline of 22 to 40 degrees. The screw has upper and lower bearings that help it rotate. There’s also the drive assembly. Self-aligning bearings can be submerged or not and keep maintenance to a minimum by having permanent lubrication to prevent wear and tear. You also gain these benefits when choosing an open screw pump:

• Up to 75% efficiency for most of the operating capacity
• Do not close or need pre-screening
• Minimal maintenance

Factors to Consider When Choosing an Archimedes Screw Pump

An Archimedean or Archimedes screw pump is designed to meet your needs, but you need to consider a few factors when making your final choice. Working with an expert in screw pumps ensures you get a cost-effective design with maximum efficiency and output.

Start with the capacity you’re aiming to meet. How much liquid are you moving from one flight (level) to the next? This needs to be clear several other factors are considered in order to ensure the screw pump design matches your goals. If you pick a screw pump with too small of a screw, the capacity will be affected by the smaller diameter.

As the screw pushes the liquid up the trough or tube, the angle cannot be too steep. If you have too steep a slope, the liquid will continue to leak back to the lowest pool. Most screw tubes are set at an angle of 30 to 38 degrees, but Lakeside Equipment can get you to an inclination of 22 to 40 degrees if needed. To keep the incline at the right angle, you’ll need to have enough flights to maintain that level of incline. Your capacity increases by around 25% for each flight you add to your design.

How fast do you need the screw pump to work? If the screw isn’t rotating fast enough, the liquid will overflow and return to the bottom chamber. If it’s too fast, it can be just as wasteful. Screw speed is the number of revolutions that screw makes each minute. Finding the right screw speed helps the system remain efficient and lowers energy use. The correct horsepower helps here. You need a pump motor that lifts the liquid at the right rate and handles your desired capacity. Lakeside Equipment believes you should never choose a pump with requirements that exceed 90% of the recommended HP listed on the motor.

How deep is the level of water or liquid you’re pumping? An open screw pump will work whether or not the bottom of the screw is submerged in water.

The screw itself is something to consider. You can get screw pumps in single, double, or triple helix designs. The tighter the threads on the screw, the more fluids the screw will grab and propel upwards. A single helix has the threads farther apart so the output is lower. A good rule of thumb is to expect output to increase by 25% for each helix you add. Triple helix designs are best when you have multiple flights, and a single is best when you only have one flight.

Screw speed impacts efficiency. You don’t want to exceed the maximum screw speed or you risk cutting efficiency by increasing your plant’s electricity usage. If this happens, it’s best to install multiple screw pumps to handle the extra load.

The final factor to consider is safety. You don’t want a worker getting injured falling into equipment. Safety measures must be part of your plans. Handrails, stairs, and barriers are all important. The power controls also need to be placed so that the screw pump doesn’t turn out at the wrong time. You want qualified engineers working with you to make sure safety is a key component in your design.

Lakeside Equipment sells both open and enclosed screw pumps. Lakeside Screw Pumps are made in the U.S. and designed to be around 70% efficient, which reduces your energy use. We pride ourselves in supplying affordable screw heads that remain easy to use and maintain. Give us a call. We can help you find the right Archimedes screw pump for your needs. Reach us at (630) 837-5640.

Not every city is built on level terrain. When wastewater is at the bottom of a hill, sewage isn’t going to flow up the slope to the wastewater treatment plant magically. Instead, it collects in a basin and must be pumped up the hill through a force main. This pipe carries the pumped wastewater uphill until gravity is able to help the wastewater reach the treatment plant.

That’s one reason why someone would be looking at industrial sewage pumps. You could be a business owner and need a sewage pump for your paper mill. You have chemicals and wood pulp fibers in the wastewater, so you have to consider those factors.

Industrial sewage pumps do this, but how do municipalities and industrial sites choose the correct sewage pumps? How do you find a sewage pump that doesn’t clog, consume too much power, or need excessive hours of maintenance? Our guide to the best industrial sewage pumps helps get you started.

Tips for Choosing a Sewage Pump

It’s time to start narrowing your options. Don’t focus as much on a specific brand at first. It’s better to decide what size pump is needed and the features you need. Then, you’ll need to consider your immediate budget and how much money you plan to spend on energy costs and maintenance for that pump. Ask yourself these questions.

Why Do I Need the Industrial Sewage Pump?

Your primary focus should be your goal for the sewage pump. Why do you need one? Is it for a new system, or are you replacing old equipment?

If you own a food processing plant, you may need a different sewage pump than a hotel would need. A hotel would be moving wastewater from the basement to the sewer main. But, a food processing plant is moving wastewater and materials such as animal blood, fat, or vegetable scraps.

Is It a Replacement?

Are you replacing an old, broken sewage pump? If so, was the one you had adequate for your needs or was it too small? If it was too small, it’s time to upgrade to a bigger pump. If it’s a simple replacement and the current size works for you, you could look at a similar industrial sewage pump when you’re researching.

In a growing municipality, you have to plan for additional growth, too. You might have 10,000 residents right now, but buildings are going up, and soon the population will reach 20,000. Your system must consider this growth. By planning ahead, you may pay more for equipment now, but as the population increases, you avoid having to upgrade equipment sooner than expected.

What Kind of Flow Rate Do I Expect?

How much sewage is being pumped each hour? Divide that number by 60 to get the minimum gallons per minute. You need to have an idea of the number of gallons per minute. You also have to consider the height and distance of the sewage being pumped. Lower horsepower may be cheaper to run, but it may burn out faster and require replacement sooner. If a pump says 1,150 GPM at 134 feet of max head, it could move 1,150 gallons a total of 134 feet each minute.

If it’s a small amount and isn’t traveling hundreds of feet, you may not need a pump with the highest possible HP motor. In a small brewery, the wastewater you’re pumping may only increase on brewing days. In that case, you may want to consider if you want an automatic or non-automatic sewage pump.

An automatic pump will turn itself on and off, while a worker must control the non-automatic. Generally, a non-automatic sewage pump is best when you know precisely when a pump needs to run and for how long.

Along the same lines, there are low-pressure and high-pressure pumps. Moving water from a residence to a sewer line is an example of a situation where a low-pressure pump may be best. High-pressure systems may be better in busier settings.

What Is My Budget?

You do have to consider your budget. If you’re aiming for a low-cost pump to save money, be careful that you’re not going to end up spending more on maintenance each year. The same is true of an expensive pump. A higher price doesn’t guarantee longevity. That’s why it’s best to work with a company that will help you get the best quality for your budget.

If you’re worried about the cost, you should also think about ways to save money. Solar panels are an initial investment, but tax incentives may make them worthwhile. The savings on energy can pay for the cost of the solar panels in just a few years. Wind power is another option if you’re looking to invest in renewable energy.

Could a Screw Pump Be the Best Choice for Industrial Sewage?

Archimedes screw pumps have the power to move sewage at a constant speed without clogging or needing a grinder pump. They can be up to 75% efficient, which lowers electricity bills. They’re suitable for moving wastewater in an industrial setting and come in two types.

• Enclosed – An enclosed screw pump puts the screw mechanism in a tube. In a Type C Screw Pump, the tube rotates and can handle an incline of up to 45 degrees. A Type S Screw Pump inclines from 22 to 40 degrees and uses a stationary tube that can pivot.
• Open – There’s also an open screw pump that is exposed to the environment. The screw mechanism sits in an open concrete trough at inclines of 22 to 40 degrees. One of the benefits of this product is the low-maintenance design that uses permanently greased bearings.

How does a screw pump work? Some systems have a pool or trench at the bottom for the sewage or wastewater to pool. The screw turns and propels the water up the blades of the screw. Once the sewage reaches the top, it deposits the liquids out of the top of the trough or chute.

Not every industrial setting is best served by an Archimedes screw pump, but if you could use one to move your sewage, it’s a cost-effective, trouble-free system to consider. If it would help you, the best screw pump design is determined by your available space and the reason for the sewage pump.

Ask an Expert in Wastewater Purification to Help

Choosing the best industrial sewage pumps isn’t a decision to rush. To ensure you get a pump that will last and not consume ridiculous amounts of energy, ask an expert in wastewater technology for advice. You don’t have to have the answers. You can turn to the pros to help you find the best industrial sewage pump. If you need an entire system designed or components upgraded, there’s no better place to start than with Lakeside Equipment.

Lakeside Equipment has a team of engineers ready to help you with your industrial wastewater system design. Our company started back in 1928 and has specialized in water purification ever since. Call us to learn more about our line of Archimedes screw pumps and other water treatment equipment.

Water treatment dates back to at least 4000 B.C. Ancient Greek documents discussed purifying water by running it through charcoal, exposing it to the UV rays of the sun, and boiling it prior to consumption. This was done to kill bacteria, remove odors, improve taste, and eliminate cloudiness.

There are also historical records showing that Ancient Egyptians added alum to water to help clarify it by suspending the particles floating in it. In the 1800s, the cholera outbreak in London was found to stem from sewage that got into a well used for drinking water. Louis Pasteur would be the person to show how bacteria in the water could cause disease in people.

Our water today is cleaner because of the world’s history and discoveries along the way. Today, activated charcoal, or activated carbon, is one of the components used in water filtration systems. In 2017, activated charcoal was a major player in water filtration, but substances like olive pits, shells from nuts, and coconut fibers are also being used. Before the year 2025 ends, it’s expected that the global activated carbon market will be worth more than $6.6 billion.

How Activated Carbon Filters Water

You’ve heard of the term absorb, which is to soak something up. Activated charcoal or carbon is a little different. It adsorbs odors and substances from liquids. Instead of absorbing these odors and substances, it bonds to them. That’s called adsorption.

A process using oxygen turns charcoal very porous. Those tiny pores trap and hold the substances that cause off-colors and odors in water. It can trap and hold things like chlorine, toxins, and even some prescription drugs that make their way into water sources.

In a household, you might have a water purification system like Brita or PUR that attaches to your faucet or a water pitcher and removes impurities and odors from your tap water. People often use them to remove the chlorine odor and taste that remains in public drinking water.

In a water treatment plant, crushed activated carbon or charcoal can help remove excess chlorine, organic materials, and other impurities. To do this, the crushed carbon is added right to the water where it removes the contaminants and then is removed after it settles with other sediments in holding tanks. Once it is removed, it can move to compost areas or landfills.

Sometimes, activated carbon pairs with a UV disinfection system to aid in the removal of chlorine and other compounds that affect the taste and smell of water that’s been treated.

Placement of an Activated Carbon Filtration System

The Environmental Protection Agency lists two ways to implement an activated carbon filtration system in a water treatment plant. One is a granular activated carbon filter that is added after the rapid mix, flocculation/sedimentation, and filtration steps. Water flows into the granular activated carbon filter once the water has been in the filtration tanks. This is known as post-filtration adsorption.

The second placement is as part of the filtration tank. The granulated charcoal sits in the bottom of the filtration tank where it filters out odors and other contaminants. In this type of system, you have the rapid mix, flocculation/sedimentation, and filtration.

It’s Important for Water Treatment Plants to Keep Up With Regulations

Regulations on water quality and purification change regularly. At the moment, the EPA has regulations in place for more than 90 contaminants. The public can request that it gets added to the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL). This request list is published at EPA.gov and accepted nominations for additional contaminants at the end of 2018. Verdicts on whether or not the contaminants were added or not are also published on the EPA’s site under Current and Previous CCLs.

The last update for the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations was released in 2009. As more items are added, water filtration plants have to keep up with the changes and make sure their equipment and tests look for those new contaminants. Activated carbon filtration often helps remove some of these new contaminants.

Lakeside Equipment has one piece of equipment that’s an essential part of any water treatment plant. Look into the stainless steel or PES filter cloth screening that’s part of the MicroStar Filter. This final step in water treatment runs your cleaned water through the filter cloth and backwashes any remaining contaminants into a central hopper where it is discharged. It’s an energy efficient step in the final stage of water filtration.

Learn more about the MicroStar Filter and Lakeside Equipment’s other clarification and filtration equipment. Our experts can help you find the right water filtration system at the right price. We’ve been in the water filtration business for more than 90 years and are happy to share our expertise with you. Call 630-837-5640 for more information.

In some towns and cities, wastewater treatment plants take care of more than wastewater that comes in from the sewers. Rural neighborhoods and villages may be near a city, but they’re too far to connect to the main sewer lines. The home’s wastewater goes into septic tanks at those houses, where it sits for months or years until it’s pumped out and hauled to a septage acceptance plant.

Over 26 million U.S. homes are on a septic system rather than a sewer. Maine and Vermont are leading states, with more than half of all homes being too far from sewer lines. Instead, septic systems are installed underground in the homeowner’s yard. Have you ever wondered how septage is processed or how these systems work?

How a Septic System Works

In city homes, you flush the toilet, run the dishwasher, do the laundry, or take a shower. That water leaves your home through pipes that travel to the main sewer lines. Rural homeowners don’t have that option. Their residences are too far from sewer lines to make it cost-effective to connect to them. Instead, their home’s main septic drain pipe travels through the basement wall or crawlspace and connects to a baffle box leading to a large concrete, fiberglass, or plastic vessel known as a septic tank.

Once the wastewater is in the septic tank, fecal matter and small food particles sink to the bottom, where bacteria break them down into sludge. Oils and fats (scum) float to the top, trapping the liquid sewage between the sludge and the scum. There’s an effluent filter and L-shaped pipe positioned just below the level of the liquid sewage. The liquids travel through the effluent filter and exit through a system of pipes that lead to a leach field.

The leach field is a series of perforated pipes over a porous liner or layer of crushed stone that allow the liquid waste to soak through the base material, filtering out some bacteria, and traveling deeper into the soil. As those liquids travel through the soil layers, the sand and rocks filter more of the bacteria. Eventually, any remaining purified wastewater ends up in the groundwater. This is why regulations require septic systems to be a reasonable distance from private wells.

Not every home has enough slope for liquids to travel into the leach field, or the ground may not drain quickly enough. In that case, a mound system is installed to use pumps to move the wastewater through filters and the manufactured mound before it travels down into the soil and groundwater.

If wastewater isn’t draining fast enough due to a blockage, flooding, or an overfilled septic tank, it can lead to overflowing toilets, sinks, and washing machine drain pipes. It can also cause raw sewage to puddle on the ground. To prevent pollution, homeowners hire local septic companies to pump out septic tanks every few years or less. Three years is the recommendation for the average four-person household. Larger households, duplexes, or apartment complexes need to have their septic tank pumped out more often.

Trucks use suction and hoses to pump out the tank into the back of a septic company’s truck. That hauler will pump out the wastewater from multiple houses and travel to an independent septage pump station or a water treatment plant. There, the wastewater gets filtered, disinfected, and returned to a body of water or a public water system.

What Happens to Septage When It Leaves a House

Septage is a mix of solids, oils/fats, and wastewater. The waste and fats must be separated from the liquids, and that’s one of the first steps when the wastewater reaches a treatment facility. The amount of septage that’s processed impacts the equipment that’s used. A small community may not need as large a system as a facility that serves an entire county.

The wastewater is pumped out of the truck and into the septage treatment or wastewater treatment plant’s screens and grit removal system, where solids and liquid sewage start to separate. Grit removal is used to remove things like coffee grounds that got into the coffee pot, sand, and other fine particulates that may go down the sink when items get washed, or people take showers.

Containers capture these solids where they can be incinerated to create energy or heat. In some areas, they are used as fertilizer. The grease and oils may stick to the walls of the tanks, so that needs to be removed. Scum also needs to be skimmed from the surface and removed from the processing tanks. System designs may include equipment that automatically skims the surface and removes those fats.

The remaining water is aerated to allow bacteria to start breaking down contaminants. Chemicals may be used to help kill any remaining bacteria. The use of chemicals will vary from one plant to the next. If chlorine or similar chemical agents are used, UV is one way to remove excess chlorine before the wastewater goes to water sources or back to homes.

A smaller independent plant may use lime to help the initial process of drawing the water from the solids. Filter presses, sand, or vacuums can also be used to separate the liquid waste from the solids. Odor control is essential as no treatment plant wants to become a nuisance to the neighbors. Enclosed tanks and treatment equipment also keep odors to a minimum.

Turn to the Pros for Your Septage Treatment Needs

Talk to Lakeside Equipment about your wastewater treatment plant’s needs. If you accept septage or want to add the equipment in order to receive it, we’re the experts you need to work with you and make it happen. We have a couple of options.

A Raptor Septage Complete Plant is an all-in-one plant with that screens, removes grit, and can aerate the septage. It’s an all-in-one system that’s ideal for treating wastewater and solids at an independent septage treatment plant. You can even add a grease trap and skimmer for efficiency.

Benefits to the Raptor Septage Complete Plant include:

• A 3,000-gallon tanker can be unloaded in under 10 minutes
• Affordable installation and operating costs
• Combination screening and grit removal requires less space
• Exterior maintenance access
• Minimal carbon footprint
• The optional control system takes care of invoices and reports
• Optional equipment for reducing odors
• Optional insulated unit with built-in heating for cold climates
• Pre-engineered for quicker installation
• Single-day installation
• Stainless steel construction for durability

A Raptor Septage Acceptance Plant provides the equipment needed for wastewater treatment plants that handle wastewater trucked in from rural communities and that arrives through sewer lines. It pre-treats septage before it’s mixed into the wastewater coming from businesses and households through the sewers. An optional Acceptance Control System allows haulers to print out reports of the septage they uploaded at the facility.

Benefits to the Raptor Septage Acceptance Plant include:

• Contained unit for odor control
• Cost-effective, simple installation
• Efficient screen cleaning cycles
• Has a larger capacity
• Low carbon footprint
• One-day installation
• Requires little room
• Stainless steel reduces corrosion

Let us know your vision and budget. Our experts are happy to discuss the best options and supply the engineers and installers to ensure the upgrade at your wastewater treatment plant goes smoothly.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act changed how wastewater discharge was handled. The goal was to help keep biological and chemical contaminants out of U.S. waterways. Over the years, changes were made. They included:

• 1977, 1981, and 1987 saw amendments made after the original amendments in 1972.
• Secondary treatment regulations were enacted in the mid-1970s and changed in 1985.
• The National Pretreatment Program Rule came out in 1978.
• A National Municipal Policy was enacted in 1984.
• Stormwater rules came out in 1990 and were updated in 1999.
• Rules regarding the use and disposal of sludge came out in 1993 and raw discharge came to an end by 1996.
• The Federal Clean Water Action Plan came out in 1998.

Each time the rules change, municipal water treatment plants need to make sure they can meet the new guidelines and rules. The U.S. EPA says that many wastewater and treatment facilities have outdated equipment that requires repairs or replacement.

It’s getting harder for wastewater treatment plants to keep up with the growing population and changes to wastewater pollutants. It’s estimated that 33% of new developments require systems such as septic systems. It’s the only way states can keep up with the growth and spread from cities with wastewater treatment plants.

To make sure they meet the current laws and regulations, make sure your municipal water treatment plans are kept up-to-date. Before you make changes, read these tips to make sure you’re making the right decisions.

How Old Is Your Equipment?

It does cost a lot of money to replace the equipment in a wastewater treatment plant. That said, how much are you spending on repairs each year? Are you able to keep up with the demand? Has your equipment failed and created spills that led to fines?

While it can cost money to purchase and install new wastewater equipment, you can end up saving money. You won’t pay as much in emergency maintenance. It will cost less to run the equipment and production increases. In little time, you’ll recoup the money you’ve spent.

Can You Meet the Growing Population?

In your municipality, are you able to meet the needs of a growing population? If not, it’s time to expand your plant. You don’t want your wastewater treatment plant to become overloaded. When you expand, it may be worthwhile to build a system that’s larger than you need. This accounts for future growth, too.

If you can’t expand due to a lack of space, you can look for machines and technologies that increase capacity without taking up more space. For example, Lakeside’s H-PAC system is designed to take up less space while also reducing operating and engineering costs. You’ll be able to do more without having to build additions and buy up land for the expansion.

Energy Efficiency is an Important Factor

It’s estimated that water treatment plants and the water industry use as much as 4% of the nation’s energy. With demands for better wastewater treatment plans, there are also concerns over the cost of electricity. The EPA estimates that up to 40% of a municipality’s budget is for the wastewater treatment plant’s electricity. Public water systems usage of electricity accounts for as much as 80% of a municipality’s budget.

To keep from blowing a budget, there’s a need for wastewater treatment plans to look at the equipment that reduces operating costs. Water treatment is going to use energy. You have pumps and equipment using electricity 24/7. You can do your part by looking into equipment that can do the job correctly for the lowest operating costs.

How Much of a Hassle Do You Face if the Regulations Change Again?

Think about the last time the regulations shifted. Were you able to meet the changing regulations with ease or was it a struggle? Taxpayers often balk when it comes to increasing town and city budgets by a large percentage, so you have to consider their ability to pay more in taxes, too. Upgrading equipment is one solution, but you might be able to make improvements with some modifications to your existing plan or by modifying your water treatment plant’s buildings. One of the easiest ways to decide is by working with professionals who are ready to help you find economical solutions.

Lakeside Equipment specializes in the design and installation of water purification systems for companies and municipalities. We also help you find the parts you need for your older equipment. With more than 90 years in the industry, you can trust Lakeside to find you the best solutions for your water treatment plan.

Let us know more about your goals. We can help you come up with the best plan for your budgetary needs. Give us a call today at 630-837-5640.

Wastewater treatment plants fill many roles. The water that’s treated and released to bodies of water must be treated in a way that protects fish, shellfish, and other wildlife. If it goes back into the drinking water supply, it must be safely treated before the public consumes it. It also has to protect the general public who swim in water coming from treatment plants.

The EPA sets water quality standards for all wastewater treatment plants to meet. If a facility fails to do this, it can lead to fines and negative press. For this reason, experts in wastewater continue to look for ways to improve wastewater treatment. With more than 30 billion gallons of water treated every day, things still can slip through the cracks. Here are some recent discoveries that can help return cleaner water to the environment.

Chitosan

When ground, the shells of crabs, lobster, and shrimp create a fibrous substance that binds to things. It’s touted as helping with wound care as it causes the blood to clot. It’s also studied as a means for lowering cholesterol levels in the blood. People with high blood pressure use it as a salt substitute.

The company Tidal Vision is researching the use of chitosan to create a liquid solution that removes metals like iron and copper from stormwater runoff and wastewater. It reduces the amount of waste going into landfills, and it can reduce costs as this is a substance that is thrown away by seafood manufacturers and restaurants every day.

Magnetic Nanosponges

Researchers are studying beneficial magnetic nanosponges in water treatment, especially when treating wastewater in agricultural settings. Microscopic holes allow molecules to travel through the sponge-like structures at record speeds. Not only is this helping with efficient water treatment, but it’s also aiding with the capture of fuel from the wastewater treatment process.

In the study, a 75% mixture of magnetic nanosponges excelled at removing contaminants in the sedimentation tanks and farm pits where the tests were run. Nanosponges speed up that reaction time by 6x, allowing optimal water treatment. This improves efficiency and is more cost-effective than current wastewater filtration steps.

Until now, sponges haven’t had the ideal pore sizes for the split of hydrogen and oxygen, which impacts how well plants can convert the CO2 into fuel that can be used for things like heating a facility. With the use of nanosponges, the optimal pore sizes aid the division, so the structures prove beneficial both at cleaning wastewater and converting the gases to usable fuel.

Microalgae

Stop and think about the results of wastewater treatment, and we’re not talking about the cleaned water that can return to public water supplies or bodies of water. Plants create greenhouse gases, such as methane. Methane is often burned to heat or power plants, but that produces carbon dioxide that’s released into the environment. Carbon dioxide may not smell like methane, but it’s still harmful to the environment.

Researchers in Arizona have been studying the benefits of using microalgae to process these greenhouse gases. The microalgae are in ponds and feed on methane and carbon dioxide that results from wastewater treatment.

As the algae feed on the gases, methane is captured as a more valuable form of biomethane for power and heat. The carbon dioxide is fully ingested and helps the algae multiply. The excess algae are rich in omega-3 fatty acids beneficial in food products for both animals and humans.

Microbial Ecosystems

One area that has been researched for several decades is microbial ecosystems. There are thousands of microbes, and newer discoveries improve water treatment steps. While aeration is one of the most common steps in wastewater, it also uses a lot of energy. As much as 80% of a plant’s operating costs are linked to aeration.

Microbial ecosystems help by eliminating some of the chemical additives and excessive use of aeration. Lowering chemical additives helps lower the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater sludge.

In the 1990s, researchers discovered anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria (anammox) could convert ammonia in waste and farm runoff to nitrogen gas. While some aeration was still required, the amount was far lower.

The microbes took up space, but that issue was resolved by introducing granular pellets that required 25% less space and helped lower operating costs by as much as 30%. A Dutch town became the first to embrace the microbe pellets for both industrial and residential wastewater, and it was successful in both areas.

Research on microbial ecosystems didn’t stop with that project. A Danish university uncovered a new type of ammonia oxidation bacteria known as comammox in 2015. Comammox was a massive discovery as they could process the ammonia without requiring any oxygen. However, testing is still ongoing to see if they can eliminate the need for aeration in wastewater treatment facilities.

Nanobubbles

A California company specializing in oxygenation is rapidly expanding the use of equipment that creates nanobubbles to aid in water treatment. Moleaer is investing $9 million to work with universities across the country to study all of the benefits and uses of nanobubbles in food manufacturing, wastewater treatment, and agriculture.

While aeration is a critical step in wastewater treatment, most mixers stir and aerate with the bubble sizes you’d expect in water. Nanobubbles are tiny. They’re so little, you cannot see them. In fact, nanobubbles are reportedly more than 2,000 times smaller than a grain of salt. Due to their size, they remain in the water for longer, increasing the amount of oxygen within the water.

A professor at UCLA reported that nanobubbles could transfer oxygen at rates of 85%, which is far greater than the typical average of 2%. When this technology is used, it can reduce the need for chemicals in wastewater treatment and reduce operating budgets.

PHA Creation

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a polymer that bacteria can produce when they digest sewage. This is an important study as PHA can be converted into biodegradable plastic. A plant in the Netherlands is currently researching the use of bacteria to create PHA bioplastic that can be used in manufacturing in areas where a water-resistant, flame-retardant biodegradable composite is needed, such as construction materials.

SND5

Researchers at the National University of Singapore came across a new strain of bacteria that proved effective at removing nitrogen and phosphorus from raw sewage. The microbe named Thauera sp. strain SND5 was found in a wastewater treatment plant, but it behaved differently, catching Associate Professor He Jianzhong’s attention.

Bacteria are already used in wastewater treatment to purify the water, but most can handle one compound. SND5 was the first bacteria he’d seen that was able to multitask. Because this bacterium can take care of both nitrogen and phosphorus simultaneously, it has the potential of being more effective at a lower cost.

Research is ongoing, and discoveries occur each year. What can wastewater treatment plants do in the meantime? One of the best steps to take is to do a walkthrough of your plant’s equipment to explore the equipment’s age, how often it breaks down or requires maintenance, and what’s driving your plant’s utility costs up.

When you sit down and look at every aspect of your wastewater treatment plant’s operating costs, successes, and failures, it helps you realize where there is room for improvement. That’s when you talk to an expert in wastewater treatment plant equipment and design.

Lakeside Equipment’s experts help you find ways to improve performance, lower costs, and enhance efficiency. Call us to schedule a consultation.

The media has brought a lot of attention to the situation Flint, Michigan, residents face with unclean drinking water. It has many wondering if the tap water in the U.S. is safe. Yes, it is. Since the discovery of lead in Flint’s water, replacement of lead and galvanized steel water lines has been an ongoing process. More than a dozen people were also charged with causing or adding to the water crisis.

The truth is that the U.S. has about 155,000 public water systems. Each one undergoes regular testing to ensure water quality. Water quality in the U.S. is outstanding thanks to laws and regulations that have been enacted or improved upon since the 1970s. Here’s a closer look at some of these improvements and how water becomes safe for drinking.

The History of Public Water Systems

The nation’s first water system came about in the 1770s. Hans Christopher Christiansen helped change the history of water systems by creating a public water system in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

By the end of the 1700s, Providence, Rhode Island, and New York City joined the list. Rhode Island brought in water deliveries from private companies. New York City had used private wells, but those polluted wells lost favor and created the Manhattan Company for public water. It would take until 1842 that NYC started tapping into the Croton River for water supplies.

As the years passed, it became clear that water was a leading reason for the spread of disease. By the end of the 1800s, cities were using sand filters or chemicals to clean water. The first drinking water standards came out in 1914. The Service Drinking Water Standards set limits on the number of bacteria allowed in water supplies. Within a year, chlorine was being used to disinfect water.

With the change to water quality, diseases linked to drinking water sharply declined. WWII came and brought about the use of organic chemicals that were making it into water sources. The Safe Drinking Water Act passed in 1974 and required that public water sources be tested to ensure contaminants fell below the levels required by the EPA.

Steps Taken to Bring Clean Water to Homes

The Safe Drinking Water Act requires water to be tested regularly. Water tests look for more than 90 items. If the contaminants are not lower than the EPA or state’s minimum standards, the water system fails and the public is told to stop using the water until the problem is found and resolved. Those tests look for things like:

• Bacteria – E-coli, fecal coliform, and legionella are a few that are tested.
• Disinfection chemicals – Examples are bromate (may cause cancer) or chlorite (increases the risk of anemia)
• Inorganic chemicals – Many are checked and include things like arsenic, cyanide, and lead
• Organic chemicals – Examples are Benzene (may cause anemia) and PCBs (increases the risk of cancer)
• Radionuclides – Cancer-causing materials like uranium

Multiple steps are taken to bring clean water to a home or business. It starts with the water source. That water source could be a reservoir, river, lake, or pond. Water is drawn from the water source to the water treatment plant. Screw pumps control the rate at which water enters a water treatment plant. Once the water is at the plant, several steps take place.

#1 – Screening

Screening is a process where larger items like leaves, trash, sticks, etc. are filtered and removed using a screen rake. Those items can then be composted or sent to a landfill. It’s an important step as larger items could damage equipment if it’s not screened and removed.

#2 – Clarification/Flocculation

Clarification systems continue the filtration process to bring you to clean water. Sludge falls to the bottom of the tank where a scraper pushes it to the sludge sump where it can be pumped out.

For solids that float the surface, such as oils, skimmers at the surface of the water take care of those. Chemical additives act as a binder to get these materials to clump together in a process known as flocculation. Flocculation paddles mix the chemicals with the water to ensure it’s mixed well.

#3 – Disinfection

Disinfection is the final step. For any bacteria or microorganisms that survived the other steps, chemicals like chlorine are added to kill them off. UV lighting and reverse osmosis systems can also help disinfect the water. From there, it goes into storage tanks or to homes and businesses.

Choosing the Right Water Treatment System Requires Experience

Lakeside Equipment started helping cities and towns create water purification systems back in 1928, long before the government passed the Safe Water Drinking Act. That’s a long history in the business of water treatment system design and installation.

Today, Lakeside Equipment assists with the design, installation, and repairs of water treatment systems in North America. The single goal of providing clean, safe water has never changed. Call us at 630-837-5640 to discuss your water treatment project.

Automation in a wastewater treatment plant delivers a number of benefits that help your bottom line, the communities you serve, and the environment. Have you stopped to consider the different ways that automation could be used without your facility?

Water & Wastes Digest reports that about 25% of the wastewater processed in U.S. treatment plants is released without being treated. Torrential rains and flooding are reasons wastewater may be released without treatment. Equipment failures and leaking pipes and lines are other reasons. Automation is key in stopping these issues from occurring.

Ten Benefits Automation Brings to Wastewater Treatment

How does automation benefit a wastewater treatment plant? Here are the top ten reasons you should consider automating your facility.

Aids in Quality Control

You can use automation to boost quality control. When you have an automated system checking oxygen levels and ensuring the water that’s released meets or even exceeds the limits set forth by the EPA, you have the perfect partner in quality control.

When anything is wrong, the system alerts you. You can go to your computer and make adjustments as needed. The workers in those areas can shut down equipment if maintenance is needed to correct a problem before it gets out of control. Issues are taken care of quickly and correctly.

Constant Creation of Helpful Data

Automation establishes the data your facility needs to cut expenses, improve the treatment process, and maximize your manpower. The data can show positive gains or negative ones. Use the negative information to make improvements and fuel growth. Use the positive to present what’s working well with your stakeholders.

You’ll also get much-needed insight into changes in flow rates. You’ll learn when people in the municipality use the most water, when things are slow, and what adjustments can be made during these peaks. Use all of this data to achieve the other benefits gained from the use of automation, such as improving water quality, efficiency, and lowering expenses.

Diagnoses Possible Issues in Advance

When you have an automated system, you learn about possible issues in advance. There are warning systems and alarms to let you know when a machine isn’t working properly. If flow rates or water quality drastically change, the system alerts you. You may need to increase the pump speeds or increase aeration.

Improves Efficiency

The UN reports that 2.3 billion people live in areas where over 25% of the freshwater sources have been withdrawn. About 17% live in agricultural regions facing severe water shortages.

When you incorporate automation into your wastewater treatment plant, water treatment processes become more efficient. The U.S. has dozens of pollutants that are classified as toxic. When a plant has wastewater that contains those toxins, it cannot release the wastewater into the sewers. They must first treat that industrial wastewater. It’s an expensive undertaking.

Automated machines can separate the sludge and water. The sludge can then be removed and the water is able to go on for additional treatment. You end up separating a larger percentage of water from the solids so that more of the water goes back into the lakes, rivers, or storage tanks for reuse.

Increases a Plant’s Capacity

In the U.S., plants process more than 34 billion gallons of wastewater every day. When a plant is operating efficiently, it saves money. That money can be used to grow the plant’s capacity. In Ohio, one plant updated older equipment with automated control systems. That change increased the plant’s capacity from 53 million gallons per day to 70 million.

When your plant has a larger capacity, it lowers the risk of an overflow of raw sewage. Per the EPA, these fines start at $2,500 per day and go up to $100,000 daily.

Lessens the Need for Chemicals

Chemical additives are used to kill any remaining bacteria in the water. When you use chemicals like chlorine, they must evaporate from the water before it can be released to the environment or returned to the city’s water supply.

If you have an efficient wastewater treatment system with optimized aeration, the air bubbles create the oxygen needed for the bacteria to do their job effectively. They’ll remove more of the harmful contaminants, reducing the need for chemical additives.

Modernizes Older Equipment

Even if you cannot afford to upgrade all of your wastewater facility’s equipment, an automated system helps the equipment you have work as efficiently as possible. You can use data gathered from the automated control system to decide where your money is best spent on upgrades. It might be a pump one year and a grit removal system another.

Step by step, you can modernize your plant and end up with the most efficient wastewater treatment plant possible.

Optimizes Facility Staffing

Automation can do things that people used to do. That’s not a bad thing. You can redesignate your workers to other areas of the plant to perform more important tasks. Instead of sitting and watching wastewater coming out of a pipe to see if there is a change in the flow rate, your employees could be engaged in more meaningful activities like inspecting, maintaining, and cleaning equipment.

Provides Real-Time Visibility

When your plant is automated, you have a constant stream of real-time data at your fingertips. You know if flow rates are increasing or decreasing during certain hours, on specific days, or during specific months. You can use the information to make data-driven decisions.

Suppose you’re seeing an increased flow rate that has put you near capacity several times. You could use this information to discuss the need for an expansion in your district. When you lay out the cost of expansion vs. the potential fines you face if you release untreated sewage, the expansion becomes a necessity that the district can’t argue against.

Reduces Energy Consumption and Costs

Finally, when you have an efficient wastewater treatment system, it reduces your energy consumption. That lowers your monthly expenditures. Tests show that automation can reduce energy consumption by 30% without needing to replace older equipment or reduce the water quality.

An Expert in Wastewater Treatment Can Help You Design the Best System and Upgrades Plan

The Sharp Biological Nutrient Removal (SharpBNR) process control system is an energy-efficient automated system. It has system status and alarm functions that you can adjust from a computer or the HMI. You can also connect it to a SCADA system for comprehensive efficient operations. Monitor Dissolved Oxygen and Oxygen Reduction Potential and have the system adjust aeration as needed.

That’s just a small sampling of all that an automated system allows you to do. Contact Lakeside Equipment to talk to an expert. Discuss your goals and your budget, and let our team help you decide the best steps to take.

What is grit? It’s the particles of sand and silt that end up in wastewater. It could be sand and gravel that’s spread to give traction on icy roads. It could be the dirt and sand you wash off your hands after doing some gardening or yard work. It can be coffee grounds, foods that go through a garbage disposal, or seeds.

When grit gets into wastewater treatment equipment, it’s destructive. It can wear down the mechanical components. It can lead to partial blockages that affect the water flow to digester tanks. Grit can end up costing a company too much money in repairs, replacements, and slowed processing.

How do you get rid of grit in the wastewater you’re processing. A grit removal system is ideal. You need one that works effectively and is designed to last.

How Grit Removal Works

As wastewater enters a water treatment plant, screens catch larger materials like sticks, trash, and plastics. The screens get finer as the wastewater flows through the plant, but sand and silt keep passing through.

There are different types of grit removal systems. To find the right system, you have to look at the type of grit you frequently process. Your options are:

• Aerated Grit Chamber – Wastewater is forced to flow in a spiral rotation and particles that are heavier than the water sink to a bottom tank.
• Detrius Tank – This is a square tank where a mechanical rake continually scrapes grit from the bottom of the tank and drags it to an auger where it is removed.
• Horizontal Flow – A horizontal flow grit chamber is one of the first types of grit removal systems. As the water flows horizontally, the grit settles to the bottom of the channel where it is scraped away or lifted out using conveyors or a bucket elevator system.
• Hydrocyclone – Water is forced into a cyclone that forces the grit along the sides and bottom of the chamber.
• Vortex-Type Grit Chamber – Wastewater flows through a cylindrical tank creating a vortex. Gravity forces heavier grit to the bottom of the tank where it is pumped out.

There are pros and cons to each system. Aerated grit chambers allow for differing flow rates. You can also start adding chemicals to them.

Horizontal flow grit chambers allow you to adjust the flow. Hydrocyclone systems can remove solids and grit at the same time.

Vortex-type grit chambers are better at removing fine grit. They don’t have parts or bearings that sit below the level of the water, so they last longer and need less maintenance. The systems are also smaller and take up less space. Similarly, detritus tanks also have all mechanical components above the water.

With any of these systems, if the raking system is not mechanical, you’ll spend more time keeping them clean. Aerated grit chambers can be smellier. Plus, they often take more power to operate.

Detrius tanks do not allow you to control the water flow. If you install this in a shallow area, you may find grit gets through more often. Horizontal flow grit chambers also can be difficult to control the flow rate. Bearings and other equipment are underwater and can wear out more quickly.

Vortex-type systems with paddles may end up with debris caught on the paddles if anything gets through wastewater screening. Grit pumps can also clog frequently. They also need more space because they are deep.

What Types of System Do You Need?

When deciding which grit collection system is best for your needs, carefully weigh the amount of space you have, how fast the water flows, and how much grit you typically have in the wastewater. Lakeside Equipment sells several systems.

Aeroductor Grit Removal System – Grit is washed and collected at the bottom of the chamber where it is then pumped out. There are no underwater parts, which helps prevent excessive maintenance. It’s also meant to last thanks to the stainless steel construction.

Grit Classifier – The Grit Classifier is paired with the Aeroductor or SpiraGrit. It processes the grit that leaves the grit removal system and sends any overflow back to the water treatment system.

H-PAC – The H-PAC system pairs with wastewater screening systems and the vortex-type grit chamber to create a system that screens the wastewater and removes grit for less money at high flow rates. It takes less space and is affordable.

In-Line Grit Collector – This is an affordable system that’s all-in-one. It has the chamber where grit settles after it’s been aerated. A grit screw removes the grit.

Raptor Grit Washer – Using vortex forces and gravity, grit is collected and washed. It can work with several flow rates, and usually removes around 90% of the grit that enters the system. The system is smaller and doesn’t take up a lot of space.

SpiraGrit Vortex Grit Removal – If you have varying flows and need as much grit removed as possible, the SpiraGrit is a good choice. Its stainless steel design resists corrosion, and there are no underwater bearings to help with maintenance costs. It also takes up less space than other systems.

Call Lakeside Equipment to talk about your water treatment plant’s goals. We can help you design a grit removal system that boosts your processing times while providing a system that is designed to maximize grit removal. We can also help with replacement parts and service. Give us a call at 630-837-5640.

Have you ever wondered how wastewater treatment is completed around the world? Only 56% of wastewater around the world went through safe water treatment steps before its release into rivers, lakes, etc. It’s estimated that 80% of the world’s wastewater never goes through any treatment. It’s the United Nations’ goal to improve the rate of wastewater treatment by 2030.

Treating wastewater correctly is essential for preventing disease. Hepatitis A is just one of many diseases that can be contracted through exposure to untreated wastewater. E. Coli, Encephalitis, Giardiasis, Poliomyelitis, Salmonellosis, and Typhoid Fever are examples of others, though there are dozens of viruses that people can get when swimming or bathing in infected waters.

In the United States, wastewater treatment is a multi-stage process. Wastewater flows into a plant through sewer lines or is trucked in after being pumped from residential septic tanks.

Most wastewater districts start by screening wastewater to remove debris like plastic wrappers, toys, animals, bone fragments, and personal care products. Those items are removed and sent to landfills. Grit removal takes out smaller particles like coffee grounds and sand.

Pumps transfer wastewater to the next stage where the wastewater is aerated using bubblers to provide oxygen to the mixture. From here, it moves into sedimentation tanks where sludge sinks to the bottom for removal and processing in digesters. Oils and fats rise to the top and are raked from the surface where they join sludge in digesters.

The materials in digesters are processed for weeks to remove bacteria, odors, and disease-causing organisms. Once the material has been in digesters for enough time, it’s hauled to landfills or dried to use as fertilizer in areas like national forests.

Some cities use filtration through substances like coconut fibers or carbon to help clean the majority of the bacteria from the remaining wastewater. What’s left goes to tanks where chemicals, such as chlorine, are added to kill any remaining bacteria.

Once this is done, it may sit in tanks for exposure to UV lighting that removes excessive chlorine. When the chlorine reaches the required levels for release, wastewater is pumped from tanks into local bodies of water like rivers and lakes.

That’s a quick look at the stages of wastewater treatment in the U.S. Our nation’s wastewater treatment plants benefit from modern technology and computer systems that help control flow rates, check water quality throughout each stage of wastewater treatment, and lower energy costs. How is wastewater treated in other countries?

Ecuador

Ecuador is one of South America’s wealthier countries, but almost 75% of the water sources below 9,186 feet are polluted. The reason is tied to wastewater that goes untreated. It’s estimated that only 10% of the wastewater generated undergoes treatment before being discharged to the Daule-Guayas River.

To stop this level of pollution from continuing, the city of Guayaquil asked for a line of credit and assistance from other countries to improve the sewer system and wastewater treatment plant’s infrastructure. The plans are to connect around 30,000 homes and apartments to the current sewer system. Improving the La Chala sewer to prevent leaks and adding a pumping station to the existing treatment plant are other project goals. Goals are to complete the project within three years.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s wastewater treatment goals are unique in that the country is very hot and arid. About six out of ten homes have toilets, but many of these toilets pipe directly to a backyard pit latrine.

With a population of over 61 million people, the country’s biggest concern is having enough water. In 2021, plans to build a chemical-free wastewater and sludge treatment plant that would recycle wastewater to homes in Addis Ababa, the capital city. Once completed, the plant will be able to process almost 4,000 gallons per day.

India

If you think of countries that are underserved by wastewater treatment, India likely comes to mind. In 2016, about 38,000 million liters of wastewater were generated per day, but only 31.5% of that wastewater was treated properly. The steps taken in wastewater treatment are the same as those used in the U.S., but there are several other issues that arise. One is that half of all Indian homes lack working toilets. For those that do, their wastewater travels into sewage systems that are poorly staffed and lack skilled workers.

Even if cities have wastewater treatment plants, wastewater ends up being discharged prior to treatment due to poor operation and maintenance processes due to staffing issues and poorly trained operators. Frequent power interruptions add to the issues. Some towns and cities simply cannot afford to build and run wastewater treatment systems.

Japan

While Japan has more than 200 inhabited islands, most of the country’s 126.4 million people live on one of the four main islands.

• Honshu – The largest with a population of 104 million and home to Tokyo, the island’s capital and largest city.
• Hokkaido – The second largest with a population of over 5 million with Sapporo being both the capital and the island’s largest city.
• Kyushu – The third largest island has more than 14 million residents. Fukuoka is the largest city on the island with over 1.6 million residents.
• Shikoku – This is the smallest of the four major islands with a population of over 4 million. The largest city on this island is Matsuyama, which has just over half a million residents.

The risk of earthquakes, flooding during tsunamis, and proximity to water make wastewater treatment an urgency. The Sewerage Law of Japan lays forth strict criteria that prefectures must abide by when it comes to building homes and businesses, connecting new households to sewer systems, and setting up packaged aerated wastewater treatment systems known as johkasous or small-scale sewage systems in rural areas.

Kobe City has a public sewer system connecting to six wastewater treatment plants that serve 98.7% of the population. During the treatment process, biogas is captured and distributed to homes and businesses in the region through Osaka Gas.

Just outside of Tokyo, the city of Saitama serves about 92% of its residents through a wastewater treatment plant. The remaining 8% rely on a johkasou. Sludge removal is a primary step in wastewater treatment. As Japan has little space for landfills, sludge must be transported to sludge treatment plants in Japan where it is processed and recycled as plant fertilizer.

Saitama does one more thing to help the island’s natural resources. About 70% of the city’s water comes from area rivers. With climate change and population changes impacting water supplies, the area’s wastewater and storm runoff are collected, processed, and cleaned at the Saitama Shintoshin Purification plant. Once clean, the water is returned to homes and businesses through pipelines.

For a wastewater treatment plant to work effectively and efficiently, plant owners and managers need to make sure equipment is maintained regularly and upgraded when possible. It’s not advantageous to wait until pumps break down or equipment fails.

Talk to Lakeside Equipment about your plant’s equipment, capacity, and age. Our experts can help you better understand the ways you can boost efficiency and ensure your system doesn’t fail as weather patterns and populations change.