Incoming
Massachusetts Director
I
would like to thank Larry Knight for his service as Massachusetts State
Director to NEWEA.
Larry has given a great deal to the members of the MWPCA.
I hope that I can follow his lead and continue the same level of
service to the MWPCA.
I
have 23 years of public service as a plant operator and superintendent prior
to taking my current position in marketing and sales. I have been a member of MWPCA for my entire professional
career. My current position
provides an opportunity to get around to meet more of you.
I
have had the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors and a Past
President of the MWPCA. During my
2 1/2--year term as President, I spent a great deal of time interacting with
the leadership of NEWEA. I
believe that both organizations have a great deal to offer the members.
The
NEWEA Winter Meeting will be the beginning of my term of office.
I look forward to serving the MWPCA in the capacity of NEWEA State
Director. I am hopeful that the
members of the MWPCA will use me as access to communicate their wishes and
desires for our mutual efforts to serve the joint membership.
The
MWPCA has enjoyed a good working relationship with the NEWEA.
We have had productive Operator Exchange events.
We would like to see another successful MWPCA Operations Challenge Team
go to the national competition. We
have also had successful joint training sessions and have seen a desire to
interact in newsletters and during Specialty Conferences.
The
NEWEA and MWPCA are looking for ways to bring new blood to the membership and
stimulate the present members to provide a little more involvement in the
current activities. We all feel
the demands of family and job commitments.
Volunteer organizations can often lose out to these demands.
The
MWPCA and NEWEA can be rewarding in education and career advancement and can
just be a lot of fun. I do believe we get out of anything a proportion of what
we put in. Please be involved to
the level you can.
I
look for your ideas and input. To
make my term effective, I need your involvement.
These associations are here for you.
Your ideas and contributions are needed to make things work.
Please
feel free to contact me directly or through one of the MWPCA Directors.
Respectfully,
Henry Albro
HenryAlbro@msn.com
(or) HenryAlbro@frmahnony.com
P
(978) 597-0703 F (978) 597-0704
Two communities
have recently benefited from Ashbrook’s commitment to their customers. The Suffield, Conn. WWTP has two 2M type 85
Klampresses. As of last summer, these presses
had been in operation since 1988, and each unit had over 14,000 hours of operation. Suffield contracted with Ashbrook for a complete
rebuild of their two presses. The main
components of the rebuild included a complete set of recoated rollers from Ashbrook’s
roller pool, all new bearings with mounting hardware, new fiberglass hydraulic cylinders,
and onsite labor. Coordination with the
operators was essential. Due to the heavy
loadings at the plant, one press had to be operational at all times. A two-man crew from Ashbrook completed the
rebuilds in less than two weeks without interruption to the dewatering process. The plant
personnel are extremely happy with the entire project and with Ashbrook’s
performance. Plant operator Bernie Gooch says that they got essentially two new presses
for less than the price of one new one. What a savings!
In Lowell, Garret Murphy chose to
upgrade his Ashbrook 2M type 85 Klampress by opting for Ashbrook’s Klampress High
Solids Retrofit Extension. This upgrade
expands the dewatering areas and results in better gravity drainage, increased throughput
and higher cake solids. The main components include drain grid, frame and drain pan
extensions, new upper and lower belts, an additional four rollers in the pressure section,
and a wedge plate. The press had been in
successful operation for over ten years. When
the renovation was in progress many worn parts were replaced by new OEM Ashbrook parts,
resulting in a complete upgrade. Once again
the plant personnel were very impressed with the efficiency, professionalism and
cooperation of the Ashbrook service personnel.
Is Garret Murphy happy with the
results of this upgrade? After the retrofit,
the dewatered cake solids rose from between 20% and 22% to between 28% and 30%. By his
calculations, this increase in cake solids saved his plant $32,000 in disposal cost the
first month!
For more information on these two
upgrades you can call Bernie Gooch at the Suffield plant and Garret Murphy at the Lowell
plant. If you would like a quotation to upgrade your Ashbrook press, please contact F.R.
Mahony & Associates, Inc. The Ashbrook
service group can also rebuild and upgrade many competitors’ presses.
Aero-Mod SEQUOX®
WWTP for Pittsford, VT
Pittsford, Vermont recently awarded
the construction contract for their new wastewater treatment plant, using the SEQUOXâ nutrient removal process, to
Charwill Construction. Green Mountain
Engineering specified this operator friendly, low maintenance solution for the town due to
several factors.
First, the existing site had limited
space available for installing the new plant. Aero-Mod
utilized common wall construction of the concrete tankage, which resulted in a small
footprint that fit on the site. Second, the
town desired a low maintenance plant with long-term reliability. Aero-Mod fabricates their equipment out of
stainless steel and PVC. In addition, the
treatment plant has no mechanical equipment under the water. Third, the plant needed to address the
ever-growing concern for nutrient removal, and the SEQUOXâ plant achieves excellent nitrogen
removal with simple controls.
Some features of the overall plant
include positive displacement blowers by Kaeser with their sound enclosures, aerobic
digestion, and sludge dewatering with Aero-Mod’s DRAIMADâ sludge bagging system.
SymBioTM Process: Easy Retrofit for Denitrification
Moves Forward at Stonington, Conn.
The SymBioTM treatment for
the Stonington project, mentioned in our most recent newsletter, was delivered to the job
site for installation this month. We expect
Stonington to reap benefits similar to those experienced at the SymBioTMinstallation
at Big Bear, Cal.
The city of Big Bear, Cal. installed
the SymBioä process in its 3.2 MGD oxidation ditch
plant in 2000. The plant had been fully
nitrifying, but due to a new discharge permit requiring denitrification, it was looking
for an upgrade. The SymBioä process, supplied by Enviroquip Inc.
of Austin, Tex. produced the most cost-effective method of treatment.
SymBioä provides simultaneous nitrification
and denitrification in a single basin by strict control of dissolved oxygen concentration.
The process involves monitoring of NADH, a coenzyme in bacteria cells, using an optical
(fluorescence) sensor and controlling the air supply to maintain a balance between
nitrifying and denitrifying fractions of sludge flocs.
In the summer of 2000, the brush
rotors in the ditches were put on “ON/OFF” timers, coupled with the SymBioä system, to introduce simultaneous
denitrification. Subsequently, variable frequency drives were installed for more precise
control. The 2001 operating data indicate the effluent ammonia to be below 1.0 ppm and
nitrate around 1.0 ppm. Total nitrogen concentration has dropped to below 3.0 ppm from a
previous range of 15-18 ppm. The influent nitrogen loading is typically between 35-40 ppm. Capital cost savings, when compared to other
possible BNR upgrades, were in the range of $700,000 because the SymBioä technology does not require separate
anoxic tanks or mixed liquor recycling equipment. Further, a precise aeration control
resulted in 30%+ energy savings compared to the normal nitrification operation used
previously.
Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater
Authority (BBARWA) has won the “Research Achievement Award” from the California
Water Environment Association (CWEA) and the “Innovation Award” from the
California Sanitation Agency (CASA) based on SymBioä performance.
Second Franklin Miller Open Channel Dimminutorâ for Northampton,
Mass.
The Northampton WWTP installed one
Franklin Miller Dimminutor® to replace a tired Worthington Comminutor, and shortly
thereafter ordered a second unit as a backup, and for use during wet weather flow. The Dimminutor® is a particularly appropriate
replacement for a Worthington Comminutor because it’s dimensions and low head loss
make installation possible without major modifications.
In addition to the ease of installation, the Dimminutor® eliminates the
environmentally dangerous mercury seals associated with the Worthington units. Northampton and their consulting engineer
EarthTech, evaluated other types of grinders, but found them to have too much head loss
for their needs. We are confident that the
new Dimmunitors® will provide years of satisfactory service.
Parkson for the
Front End and Back End of the Medfield, Mass. WWTP Covered by Ultraflote
Parkson Corporation will provide a
5.2-MGD Aqua Guardâ fine screen for the headworks of the
Medfield, Mass. Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade.
The upgrade was designed by SEA Consultants and will be installed by Camp, Dresser
& McKee Engineers and Constructors. The
screen is designed to accommodate the design flow with only 13.22 inches of head loss. A Parkson Meva Wash Pressâ will process the screenings. The combined equipment produces a well-screened
flow and screenings that are dry, compact and will meet the vector attraction standards. Phosphorous is removed from the effluent of the
biological treatment units by sixteen Parkson DynaSandâ Moving Bed Sand Filters. The filters
will be covered by Ultraflote’s Quad Sealä aluminum flat panel covers.
Parkson ROMAGä CSO Screen for
Augusta, Maine
After an extensive review by the staff
of the city of Augusta, Maine and their consultant, EarthTech, Augusta chose a Parkson
ROMAGä storm water screen of the bending
weir design for a recent CSO project. The
screen has a design flow of 40 MGD. The self
cleaning ROMAGä screen was the recipient of the WEF
“Innovative Technology Award” in 1998 and with the addition of the RSW-W bending
weir to the design, it won the WEF “Innovative Technology Award” again in 2001. The ROMAGä screen is a fine bar screen designed
specifically for combined sewer, sanitary sewer overflows and storm sewer outfalls. The screen retains solids and floatables so that
the water, which passes through it as outfall, is free of recognizable solids. The
screenings are diverted to the wastewater treatment plant to eliminate solids handling at
the screen site. The bending weir design
increases vertical storage capacity as much as two feet in the collection system, before
an overflow occurs. The installation will be
performed by S. E. MacMillan Co., Inc. of Bangor, Maine.
Brand New for the
Price of Rebuilt in Rockland, Mass.
The Rockland, Mass. Wastewater
Treatment Plant has chosen to replace two 20-year-old mechanical aerators with two new DBS
mechanical aerators. This project is a win/
win situation. The total cost of the new
aerators was comparable to the cost of rebuilding the existing worn out US Motors
gearboxes. The plant now has new gearboxes and impellers rather than the old impellers
with rebuilt gearboxes. However the best news
is that since the new, essentially free impellers are 10 to 15 percent more efficient than
the old impellers, the plant’s power supplier participated in the cost of the new
units as part of their energy conservation program. Plant
Manager Aram Varjabedian and the plant staff are to be congratulated for their resourceful
thinking.
Welcome Aboard
Parkson
FRMA is now the New England
representative for Parkson Corporation. Parkson
recently purchased Waterlink Separations Division, which included Hycor Corporation,
already represented by FRMA. Parkson also purchased American Bulk Conveying, manufacturer
of solids separation and handling equipment. We
are excited about having been selected by this fine and established company, and look
forward to familiarizing you with their quality products.
ChemScan®
Analyzer Solves Monitoring Problem
The East
Providence, R.I. Water Pollution Control Facility has solved a long-standing problem with
their residual chlorine analyzer. Their old
unit was constantly out of calibration. Many
man-hours were spent cleaning and calibrating the unit, only to have the unit fail within
a short period of time. Therefore, the
information gathered from this unit was not reliable.
This made permit monitoring for chlorine residual a very labor-intensive
process.
F.R. Mahony
and Associates, provided a ChemScan® Model A-2000 Amperometric analyzer that was
installed by plant personnel in less than one hour.
The unit was functioning and providing reliable data to the plant chart
recorder in a very short period of time.
The A-2000
analyzer provides a continuous, real time analysis of a constant flow sample stream of
either water or wastewater. The LED display
indicates chlorine residual in Free or Total Chlorine.
The unit's stability and accuracy makes effluent stream monitoring very
reliable. The benign and inexpensive 5% white vinegar reagent makes the unit safe and
inexpensive to operate. Optional data log and
4-20 mA outputs make remote monitoring simple and effective.
Assistant
Superintendent Thomas Azevedo has been very pleased with the reliability of the new
analyzer. Tom said, “This replacement solved a longtime nagging problem, and now
reliable operations give us hours of time to perform other plant duties.”
