COLORADO

Background

Situated in the central mountainous region of CO, Kremmling CO has invested a significant amount of work into their wastewater lagoons over the years. When Kremmling learned that their new permit would require winter ammonia limits, there was concern that the district would have to abandon their lagoons that were otherwise providing excellent effluent quality. After investigating a $6 Million mechanical plant upgrade, RGA was tasked with identifying alternatives to a mechanical plant for the community.

Solution & Results

After contacting WCS and learning that a Bio-Dome upgrade would cost the community less than $750,000, RGA and representatives of Kremmling visited Plain City, Utah in order to make site visits and learn more about the Bio-Domes. In order to prove the Bio-Domes can truly provide reliable nitrification at a location where freezing conditions are experienced 8 months of the year, Kremmling has opted to first bring in a Mobile Pilot Unit for a 12 month study. The pilot unit was delivered in September of 2012 and while it got off to a great start, WCS and Kremmling both underestimated the severity of the weather in Kremmling during the winter months. The pilot unit was plagued with freezing issued for the better part of the winter in spite of additional heating units being brought in.   The results of the pilot study were severely compromised because of this.

Customer Feedback

In spite of the difficulties with the pilot unit, the initial results of the study were such that Kremmling has opted to pursue the Bio-Domes in a larger scale, 50 unit pilot study that will be installed directly into one of their ponds to avoid all of the freezing issues that were part of the mobile pilot study. The larger pilot study (Phase 2) is scheduled to begin in October 2013.

Background

When Naturita CO first contacted WCS in 2010, they were in the process of evaluating a proposal to abandon their lagoons and participate in an $8 Million regional WWTP with some of the neighboring communities. When their neighbors backed away from that idea Naturita was then was presented with a plan for a $4 Million Mechanical Plant upgrade. Naturita has already had to mothball a mechanical plant that was built back in the 1970’s and wasn’t eager to return to the high O&M costs of a mechanical plant. In looking for a cheaper alternative, Naturita found WCS online and requested a proposal for a Bio-Dome system capable of helping them meet their winter month Ammonia limits.

Solution & Results

The proposed system for Naturita consists of 77 Bio-Domes and will cost the community under $300,000 to implement. Before they can proceed to a full scale installation however, Naturita has requested a Mobile Pilot Unit that they will run from October 2012 through October 2013. The results of the pilot study to date can be seen below. The pilot unit did experience some freezing problems in mid January, but was able to quickly bounce back to regular operation.

Customer Feedback

Jason Carver has worked with WCS for the last year to get State approval to run the pilot study in Naturita. Naturita views the Bio-Domes as their best hope for meeting the state mandated requirements without having to bankrupt the community.

Project Information

Location:

Dolores, Colorado

Project Type:

Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Start Date:

March 2012

Treatment Objectives

 Flow:

12,000 gal/day

Effluent Ammonia Requirement:

1.9 – 5.1 mg/L

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Lee Mobile Home Park has 59 resident units with a very small lagoon system providing treatment for the collected waste. The small lagoon system was having troubles meeting the limits set by the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE). The owner of Lee Mobile Home Park, Mr. Rick Lee, contacted WCS after searching for ways to improve BOD and TSS removal, as well as ammonia removal during winter from his wastewater lagoon in late 2011. The combined proven winter performance and the low capital and O&M costs of WCS’s Bio-Dome appealed to Rick from the very beginning.

On March 5, 2012 WCS delivered 6 units to Rick for installation in his third cell as a final polishing step of his wastewater before entering the chlorine contact chamber. After the first couple months of operation, Rick is very excited about the performance he observed:

“We first got air to them (the Bio-Domes) in place on the 21st of July. I am, however, really excited over what I’ve observed is going on in cell 3- the Bio-Domes unit. After refilling the unit (in cell 3) we had an algae bloom of near record proportions. Gradually the bloom subsided and we are at a point of clarity and tint (almost no green tint whatsoever) that I have never observed in cell 3 previously. Obviously, the poo-gloos are working on the nutrient level fairly aggressively already.” – Rick Lee (August 2012)

The Bio-Dome system has been operating to meet the year round discharge limits at Lee Mobile Home Park for the past 6 years. The following figure shows the lagoon effluent ammonia from the year of 2016-2017.

“Our small lagoon based wastewater treatment facility was faced with future ammonia standards that would be impossible to achieve in winter. Searching for a solution I came across Wastewater Compliance Systems and became an early adopter of their Bio-Domes. Thanks to the “Poo-Gloos (Bio-Domes)” and other modifications we are now able to meet our standards year round. “- Rick Lee (July 2017)

Key Benefits of the Bio-Dome®:

1. A Bio-Dome® system represents the least expensive treatment upgrade available in terms of both capital expense as well as O&M expense.
2. An upgrade utilizing Bio-Domes will not require operators with additional training, certification, and/or a higher pay grade.
3. The Bio-Dome® system is intended to be a modular, expandable, system that is capable of growing with the facility over the next 20+ years.
4. Because of energy efficiency, the Bio-Dome® system can be considered “green” and will aid in qualifying the facility for Energy Efficiency grants if any are available through utility providers.

Bio-Dome® is featured in “Principles of Design and Operations of Wastewater Treatment Pond Systems for Plant Operators, Engineers, and Managers” (EPA/600/R-11/088).

For more on how a Bio-Dome® solution can keep your lagoons compliant at a cost you can afford, DOWNLOAD BROCHURE