GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga., May 4, 2004 – Water treatment technology will help relieve the bite of drought in coming years for the greater Atlanta area.  The Gwinnett County F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center, Buford, Georgia, is upgrading its central water reclamation facility to produce extremely high quality effluent for reuse. 

The plant will reclaim up to 60 mgd of water, 40 of which will go to local Lake Lanier, returning the water to its point of origin.  Water treatment technology from USFilter will remove phosphorus before the reclaimed water is sent back to Lake Lanier, the reservoir that is a major source of drinking water for the greater Atlanta area.  The remaining 20 mgd will be sent to the Chattahoochee River, south of the lake.

“We needed to expand the capacity of our wastewater treatment plant, but we didn’t have a large footprint in which to do it,” says Adam Minchey, director, engineering & construction and project manager at the Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities.  “The Zimpro® inclined plate separators fit the compact space we have, and will allow us to reclaim water to help ease the burden on potable water supplies.”

USFilter Zimpro Products, Rothschild, Wis., was awarded a $2.2 million order for inclined plate separator plate packs.  This is the first time the plate packs will be used at a major wastewater treatment plant involved in treating water for reuse.

 “We’re excited about this application,” says Marc Roehl, product manager at USFilter Zimpro Products.  “We were competitively pre-selected on this project based on our experience and credentials in the industry, and are excited about helping provide clean drinking water for this major metropolitan area.”

Zimpro® inclined plate separators are designed to remove solids from water and wastewater while greatly reducing the footprint required for sedimentation.  The separators have been successfully applied in water and wastewater treatment facilities with flows ranging from 15 gallons per minute (gpm) to more than 250 mgd. 

USFilter will provide 72 stainless steel plate packs for installation in four sedimentation basins at the 60 mgd Gwinnett plant.  Partial startup is expected in Spring, 2005.  The entire new expansion will be in operation by Summer 2006.

This is not the first USFilter installation in Gwinnett County – the county also uses USFilter Envirex Products Rim-Flo/Tow-Bro clarifiers at this same plant; a USFilter Dewatering Systems radial wedge belt press at the Beaver Ruin WRF (the largest belt press currently in production in the world); and USFilter Envirex Products’ Orbal™ aeration at the Yellow River and Crooked Creek WRFs.

USFilter’s local representative on these projects is Heyward, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.