The challenge
Small Florida community benefits from Veolia North America’s O&M support of wastewater facilities
The project challenges are:
- A growing population and stringent discharge requirements prompted the city to seek an experienced contract operator for its wastewater treatment facility.
- In 1991 the city awarded an operations/maintenance/management (O&M) contract to Veolia.
- Since then, the company has operated the city's 2.4-MGD (combined capacity) Bardenpho and oxidation ditch wastewater treatment plants, 36 lift stations, land application program for sludge and effluent reuse program with reuse distribution system.
The solution
Innovative solutions:
- Implement improvements in operations such as recommending a change in effluent disinfectant to liquid chlorine from the more dangerous chlorine gas
- Install chemical feed stations to improve process control
- Assist city in developing a reclaimed water distribution system
- Add an odor control system for lift stations at no cost to the city that includes installation of bagging system, fogging system, pilot microbe injection system, pilot chemical injection system and diligent housekeeping to keep equipment clean
- Identify unforeseen repairs in addition to funded capital projects
- Work with the city's consulting engineers to resolve conflicts with trihalomethane discharges to Terra Ceia Bay, to avert any potential environmental damage
- Donate to community causes and organizations
Benefits for our clients
Results:
- Reduced O&M costs by 15%, reflecting a first-years savings of $70,000
- Achieved more than 15 years of savings and improvements totaling $366,000 that Palmetto received during 2005-2007 alone
- Developed and implemented a "purple pipe" system for residential irrigation
- Improved quality of discharges to endangered shellfish beds
- Improved plant performance to a 99.9% compliance rate
- Achieved a perfect safety record — 16 years with no lost-time accident
- Provided for system longevity through preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance
- Provided added-value "no cost" projects such as industrial pretreatment sampling, manhole inspections, collection corrosion evaluation, collection smoke testing and standby generator contract administration