June 8, 2001—Severn Trent Services received a $9 million contract to create a peak flow wastewater operation in one of the largest counties in the state of Alabama.
The contract is for improvements to the Village Creek Peak Flow Wastewater Treatment Facility in Jefferson County.
The company will install its proprietary Tetra High Rate DeepBed(tm) Filters system, a 26,000 square foot network of concrete structures, each holding a six-foot bed of coarse sand. Installation began early in May and is expected to be completed by May of 2003.
The size of the filter system varies depending on the needs of each project. Several wastewater plants serve Jefferson County, but the Village Creek operation is the largest peak flow handling water facility in the county.
"After a 90 day pilot test, we came to the conclusion that Severn Trent offered the most comprehensive and unique filtration operation, one that can address the treatment requirements of the overall project," says Robert A. Meek, project manager of Gary L. Owen and Associates, Inc., the consulting engineers responsible for overall project design and construction management.
One advantage of this deep media bed is the retention of solids, oils and grease throughout the bed, rather than simply surface screening. It allows greater treatment capacity in less surface area. The system can handle higher flow rates (up to 10 gpm/square-ft for gravity installations) without breakthrough or bypassing.
The filters can achieve effluent turbidities of one NTU or less and effluent suspended solids of less than 5.0 mg/L total suspended solids. Operating and maintenance costs are expected to be less because it requires less backwash water/air and offers longer run times.
