Challenge

A Southeastern U.S. municipality treats over 100 million gallons per day of municipal and industrial wastewater at several facilities throughout its collection system.   Countless complaints were made by local residents about wastewater odors.  The city’s collection system was also corroding due to the conversion of hydrogen sulfide to sulfuric acid in the crown area of the pipes.  Corrosion also manifested itself in electrical panels, concrete walls, and steel fixtures of pumping stations.  The city made a decision to consolidate its treatment programs and single-source all equipment, chemicals, maintenance, and monitoring services for the treatment of its wastewater in an attempt to improve or eliminate the problem.

Solution

A recommendation was made to the municipality to provide a full-service program to reduce hydrogen sulfide levels in the collection system within the city’s budget constraints.  A full evaluation of the system was conducted to investigate the source of the hydrogen sulfide and develop an optimum program to eliminate it.

Results

Greater than fifty chemical feed points are in operation today, increasing with each expansion of the city.  For eight years, this proactive approach to the treatment of this system has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of odor complaints from the local community.  In addition, corrosion of the collection system has been greatly reduced are eliminated.

Ongoing evaluations provide a method for continuous improvement of the treatment program economics and allow the introduction of new technology.  The success of this partnership has resulted in the city requesting the evaluation of additional sites.