Treatment Plant Operator | Water Environment Federation Presents Awards for Operational and Design Excellence

November 22, 2017 – Read original article

The Water Environment Federation presented its 2017 Operational and Design Excellence Awards during last October’s WEFTEC conference in Chicago. Recipients are:

Collection Systems Award for advancing the state-of-the-art wastewater collection:

Keith McCormack, P.E., Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. McCormack has more than 30 years’ experience in planning, design, construction and regulatory compliance in collections systems and treatment facilities. He has continuously held leadership roles for two decades with WEF and the Michigan Water Environment Association.

Innovative Technology Awards for WEF Associate Members who have introduced new products or services for treatment facilities:

Wipes Ready grinders, JWC Environmental. This product effectively handles the nonwoven sheets that have been a scourge of industry for the last five to 10 years. It has been shown to consistently remove the material and eliminate re-agglomeration.

Aqua Assist, DryLet. The product has the potential to change the way wastewater plants are designed. It significantly increases removal of organic compounds by providing a substrate for bacteria to populate.

I Range Products, HydroFLOW USA. Powered by HYDROPATH Technology, this offering effectively removes struvite buildup in digesters and pipelines.

Peter M. Brown; TransAqua, Morgan Operational Solutions Award. The sewage boat solves a difficult operational problem while saving money and improving safety.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Schroepfer Innovative Facility Design Medal, Completion of the Calumet Tunnel and Reservoir Plan. The Calumet TARP system provides substantial capital and operating savings for the municipalities it serves by relieving the burden of creating individual systems to capture and treat CSOs. It also provides $40 million in annual flood damage savings.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Water Quality Improvement Award, Completion of the Calumet TARP. The Calumet TARP includes a 7.9-billion-gallon reservoir and 37 miles of deep tunnels that reduce flooding and eliminate CSOs for the 556,000 people it serves. It has also increased dissolved oxygen levels and increased fish populations and fish species in waterways.

WEF Project Excellence Awards for excellence and innovation in the execution of projects and programs in the water sector:

 Alexandria Renew Enterprises, Virginia, State-of-the-Art Nitrogen Upgrade Program. Alexandria Renew Enterprises, owner; CH2M, designer; Jacobs Engineering, construction manager; Clark Construction/Ulliman Schutte Joint Venture, construction manager at risk. AlexRenew addressed pending regulations while renewing its commitment to sustainability, innovation and the surrounding community. The resulting project included a long-range planning study and the design and construction of a $131 million upgrade that is at the forefront of nutrient removal technology.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Stickney Water Reclamation Plant nutrient recovery facility. Black & Veatch, design/builder; Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, technology provider. The project included a nutrient recovery system and conversion of the 1.44 bgd plant to biological phosphorus removal.

Town of Riverhead, New York, Water Resource Recovery Facility, Upgrade and Reuse Program. H2M architects + engineers, designer. The $24 million project included a 1.5 mgd ultrafiltration membrane bioreactor and reclamation system with a fully integrated wastewater reuse process train. The town will reuse up to 100,000 gpd of in-plant wash water and makeup water. The plant provides up to 450,000 gpd of reuse water for golf course irrigation.

Linden (Michigan) Water Resource Recovery Facility, WEF Safety Award. The Linden facility has shown a top-down commitment to safety, including employment of a dedicated safety manager, and has received complimentary feedback from its insurance carrier.

For more information about the WEF Awards, visit www.wef.org/awards.