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.

When wastewater reaches a water treatment plan from a sewer or truck that transports septic system wastewater, it goes through two main stages. Each stage has several steps. It starts with screening and a trip through the grit chamber and into the sedimentation tank. The second stage involves more filtering, disinfecting, and, possibly, dechlorination.

That’s just wastewater treatment. There are also processes specific to hydropower plants and factories like steel mills or pulp/paper mills. Each one requires water to be treated before it’s returned to the rivers, lakes, and oceans nearby. Each one involves screening to remove debris that could damage the pumps and other treatment equipment.

Screening is a critical first step. There are items in wastewater that can create blockages and damage water treatment equipment. Items like tampon applicators, diaper liners, sanitary pads, baby wipes, and condoms are not meant to be flushed. People do it anyway.

In a hydroelectric plant, a storm or high winds can send leaves, branches, and entire trees into the waterways. That’s why screening is an important first step in any of these industries.

How Does Screening Work?

As water enters a treatment plant or other facility, it goes through a variety of stainless steel screens. The size of the screening determines what the screen filters. You have wide screening to catch sticks, branches, and items like water bottles, soda cans, and plastic bags. Water is able to flow through, but the debris cannot.

As the size of the screens decreases, it catches smaller particles and items. Finer screen products can capture sludge, grease clumps, and other solids. Screens are paired with rakes that remove the materials from the screens to prevent clogging.

Wastewater enters the first screen and materials are caught on the screening. When the water level is high enough, the trash rake moves over the screen to remove the debris. This keeps water flowing through the screens. After the rake finishes its pass, the debris is moved to a collection bin. The trash rake makes a second pass where the rake is cleaned and readied for the next pass.

Debris is moved from the collection bin on a conveyor where it is washed and moved to a debris container. From the debris container, that debris could go to an incinerator, landfill, or composting area.

What Happens After Screening?

One thing screens cannot capture is the fine sand and grit that finds its way into wastewater. Sand from winter road maintenance, silt from rivers, and other fine materials pass the screens and settle into the bottom of the grit chamber where it can be removed.

At this point, there can still be tiny particles. They are processed in a sedimentation tank where they’ll combine to form solids that are removed through pumps. Sludge from sedimentation tanks may be processed into fertilizer pellets.

By the time the next stage of treatment starts, around 85 percent of the organic materials in wastewater have been removed. To remove the rest, it may be filtered through layers of stone or materials where bacteria consume the organic matter. The other option is to move the water into a tank where the wastewater is aerated and mixed with bacteria that will break down the rest of the matter. The remaining liquid is aerated again and pumped to a new tank where it will be mixed with chlorine to kill off any remaining bacteria.

In most states, it’s required now that the chlorine is removed before the water is returned to bodies of water to prevent harm to the plants and fish. If chlorine is not used to disinfect, ozone or UV lighting are used instead.

The treated water may end up back in watersheds where it is recycled as water that is piped to homes and businesses in nearby towns and cities. Before it can be sent back to homes, it is tested to make sure it is safe for consumption.

How Big or Small Are These Water Treatment Screens?

Lakeside Equipment sells Raptor Screening products. Rotary Strainer Screens are in a cylinder that sits horizontally. The wire openings start at 1/10^th of an inch down to 1/100^th of an inch for fine screening.

The Fine Screen can capture solids and organic materials in a cylindrical basket. There’s a Rotating Drum Screen that ranges from 1/4^th inch to 1/50^th inch in size. We also have trash rakes and other water treatment parts and equipment options.

Those are some of the options that can help you remove waste. Talk to our specialists to learn more and come up with the best screening products for your business’s or plant’s needs. Contact us to let us know how we can help.

Hurricane Ian destroyed so many beaches, businesses, and homes across Florida. As the storm was slated to hit the Tampa Bay area and then ended up hitting farther south, people weren’t always prepared and didn’t always have the time to evacuate. That’s just one area of concern with changing weather patterns.

The storm surge and heavy rains lead to power outages and raw sewage flooded out of sewers and wastewater treatment plants, releasing untreated sewage into rivers and streets. Bradenton’s wastewater treatment plant reported having to release millions of gallons of wastewater into the Manatee River. Orlando released tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater before it was fully treated. In Miami, thousands of gallons bubbled up from the sewers.

Hurricane Ian’s rainfall almost reached two feet by the time it left the western coastline. No one was prepared for that amount of rainfall, followed by a substantial storm surge. It has raised awareness that the infrastructure in Florida is not prepared for these massive storms. How prepared is your wastewater treatment plant?

Take a Close Look at Your Infrastructure

One of the problems affecting Florida’s sewers and wastewater treatment facilities is outdated piping. Some of the pipes are made from cast iron and are corroding. Until the 1970s, some districts used piping known as Orangeburg, which was a compressed wood fiber with a water-resistant adhesive, and coal tar.

Orangeburg was affordable, but it was only intended to last for 50 years. The problem is, some of the piping failed within 10 years. In some areas of Florida, Orangeburg piping is still being used. As cities bring homeowners on septic systems to sewer systems, the changeovers are made, but it takes time and money.

Florida isn’t the only place in the nation that needs to stop and take a closer look at its infrastructure. Northern Virginia is working on a project to install a two-mile sewer tunnel that goes under the Potomac River to try to stop the release of untreated wastewater going into the river. Alexandria, Virginia, only has one main sewer pipe for stormwater and sewage, and it causes serious issues. Cities like Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Seattle, Washington, are working on similar upgrades.

Get a better picture of just how many systems are facing similar problems. Here are some of the most important facts from the 2021 Infrastructure Report Card.

• Over 16,000 wastewater treatment plants in the U.S. are operating at 81% of their systems’ capacities.
• Around 15% of them have exceeded capacity.
• Wastewater treatment plans typically have a lifespan of 40 to 50 years.
• The nation’s underground piping bringing wastewater to treatment plants or clean drinking water to homes and businesses is an average of 45 years old and has a lifespan of 50 to 100 years.
• Older piping is a problem as cracks and fractures allow stormwater and groundwater to seep into the sewer pipes, increasing the flow entering a facility, which puts more demand on the system’s equipment.
• One out of five Americans rely on a septic tank, and the liquids and solids from those tanks are hauled to an area wastewater treatment plant, so every American relies on their area’s wastewater treatment plant.

The importance of a wastewater treatment system extends to every corner of the nation. Yet if you look at the burden of the cost of the necessary upgrades between 1977, when the government’s capital investment was 63%, and today, it’s concerning. In 2017, the federal government’s capital investment was down to 9%. President Biden signed an infrastructure bill that’s an important first step in making improvements, but there’s a lot of work to do.

With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, $15 billion is earmarked for the replacement of lead water pipes. States are also given funding for water projects, so it’s important to look into what’s available in your state’s revolving loan fund. Total wastewater grants and funding include:

• $75 million for information sharing regarding water infrastructure and water quality
• $100 million for wastewater efficiency grants
• $125 million for system resilience
• $200 for new sewer system connections to help move some areas from septic systems to area sewers
• $250 million for new installations, repairs, or replacements of septic systems
• $1.4 billion for measures to control and treat sewer and stormwater-related overflows

What should you be doing? It’s time to take a closer look at your equipment. Just how quickly can it work? Does it require someone to be onsite for changes or is it automated? Is your equipment pretty trouble-free or does it require frequent maintenance?

Another question to ask is where stormwater runoff goes. In older districts, there is a chance that stormwater runoff is channeled to wastewater treatment plants. This isn’t as common, but it still does happen around the U.S. If there are flooding rains and the stormwater rushes to a wastewater treatment plant, it can pose serious issues with untreated wastewater being released. Separating those systems should be a consideration.

In your district, what piping is being used? What is the capacity of the equipment in your treatment plant? Are your stormwater run-off and wastewater treatment systems connected? If there is a massive flood or unheard-of levels of storm surge, are you prepared? If not, it’s time to consider what you can do to be prepared.

The Florida Keys Shows the Importance of Change

The Florida Keys spent around $1 billion upgrading their wastewater and stormwater systems. They installed sealed pipes to prevent stormwater from getting into the sewers. Their wastewater equipment was upgraded with a treatment system for nitrogen removal to help prevent algal blooms and the wastewater treatment plant’s cleaned water was released 3,000 feet below ground instead of at the surface.

That system seemed to do well. After the flooding from 2017’s Hurricane Irma, no sewage spills occurred. In the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Pollution Notice Report, no mention of the Keys was made after Hurricane Ian.

If your system hasn’t been upgraded lately, it’s a good time to consider making improvements. Not only can you install upgrades that save on energy consumption, but you can use grants to add solar panels or wind turbines to reduce your demand on the power grid. Burning the methane produced in your plant for heat is another great upgrade.

From Raptor Complete Plant systems to grit collectors and trash rakes to open and enclosed screw pumps, Lakeside Equipment can help you upgrade older equipment to handle higher capacities. We offer SharpBNR process control systems to ensure your facility meets its goals. Many times, the money you save on energy bills or by avoiding EPA fines pays for the system in little time.

Lakeside Equipment provides cost-effective wastewater, hydroelectricity, and water treatment equipment for your municipal and industrial needs. Our experts have been helping deliver cleaner water since 1928. Reach out to our team to discuss how we can help you save money and ensure you’re meeting your community’s water treatment goals.

According to the World Energy Council, water supplied 71% of the world’s renewable energy in 2016. Hydropower stations generate electricity by capturing the energy from flowing water. That water may be flowing in a river or from a reservoir. It works like this:

1. Water rushes from a high point to a low point. A dam or natural incline of a waterfall can create those high and low points.
2. As the water falls, it forces the blades of a turbine to spin. The action of the turbine converts the falling water’s energy into a mechanical form of energy.
3. Generators that are connected to the turbines take that mechanical energy and convert it into electricity.
4. Power lines send the electricity from the generators to homes and businesses.

There’s one more aspect to this that’s essential to proper operations. The water entering the turbine can’t be filled with trash. The EPA believes around 80 percent of the trash found on beaches came from the land. Much of it is food packaging and beverage cans and bottles. When that trash and recycling finds its way into rivers and into hydroelectric power stations, it can damage equipment and impede water flow.

Is That Much Trash Really in Our Waterways?

The amount of trash and debris in rivers is astounding. In 2010, the Great Mississippi River Cleanup began. In less than a decade, volunteers have already removed more than 513,000 pounds of trash and recycling from the river.

Each year, Riverkeeper Sweep volunteers clean up trash from the shores of the Hudson River in New York. In 2018, 38 tons of trash was removed.

Where does all this trash come from? Trash may fly out of a truck bed when it’s not secured. Some flies out of open car windows on a gusty day. It can be deliberately tossed out. People may not properly dispose of food packages after a picnic. Wind can blow it from recycling containers and dumpsters that are not closed. To prevent this from happening, consumers need to be careful about disposing items and reusing packaging as much as possible.

You also have the debris that naturally ends up in waterways. An old tree on the bank of a river may fall in after a storm. Branches may snap off trees after an ice storm and end up in a river. Leaves that fall off the trees in the fall will end up in some of the nation’s rivers. That debris is biodegradable, but it can clog the screens on water intake pipes at hydroelectric plants and cause problems.

How Do Hydroelectric Plants Keep the Trash Out?

There are two components to trash and debris removal at a hydropower station. Trash or bar racks are metal screens placed over a water intake pipe. These metal grids prevent things like fallen branches, trash, and recyclable containers from going into the pipe connected to a turbine.

Those screens need to be cleared from time to time. That’s the job of a hydropower trash rake. The rake removes the debris and trash from the screen automatically. This keeps the screen clear so that operations are not impeded.

If the screen is not cleaned, air bubbles can get in and damage the turbine. Low water pressure is all it takes for the air bubbles to form It could be from a blocked screen or low water levels in a river or reservoir. To prevent pockmarks in the turbine blades and the vibrations that can come with it, the plant must shut down and wait until water flow is corrected. This can cause power outages for people served by that plant.

Hydropower trash rakes can work quickly. Catronic Series Trash Rakes clear a 200-foot section at depths of up to 100 feet. The ability to lift up to 20 tons makes it a powerful system for removing fallen trees from trash racks. The hydropower trash rake can work automatically or with someone operating the system and manually removing logs, trash, and other forms of debris.

What does your hydroelectric power station need to keep equipment in prime condition and working efficiently? The professionals at Lakeside Equipment Corporation can help you find the perfect solution. Call 630-837-5640 or email sales@lakeside-equipment.com for more information.