DUNBAR, W.V., Oct. 6, 2004 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently selected the Dunbar Sanitary Board in Dunbar, W.V., to receive its 2004 National First Place Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Excellence Award for medium advanced treatment plants. This is the first plant in West Virginia ever to achieve this honor.
Part of the EPA's Clean Water Act Recognition Awards Program, the award recognizes plant personnel and local officials for developing and implementing innovative and outstanding O&M practices at their facilities.
The 2.25-million-gallon-per-day (mgd) Dunbar WWTP installed a VLR® (vertical loop reactor) process from USFilter Envirex Products in 1999. The process handles a combined system flow of up to 5.5 mgd. Other USFilter equipment at the Dunbar WWTP includes two Tow-Bro® clarifiers, four Wallace & Tiernan® gas feed systems, two Wallace & Tiernan® gas detectors, a Strantrol® 900 controller, a PolyBlend® polymer feeder and a Control Systems SCADA system with D620i controllers.
"Dunbar is a small community in a small state, and to be recognized on a national level is extraordinary," says Ron Byrnside, general manager of the Dunbar Sanitary Board. "The leadership of this city is committed to providing only the best service to its citizens, and this award demonstrates that strong leadership, commitment to principles, and plain old hard work can in fact pay off. We here in Dunbar feel genuinely proud to have been part of such a success story."
The O&M Excellence Award is the facility's fourth award earned in two years. In 2002, the Dunbar Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) received the West Virginia Water Environment Association's O&M System of the Year Award and that same year, the West Virginia Rural Water Association's Facility of the Year Award. In 2003, the facility received the EPA's Regional O&M Award.
"The Dunbar plant is truly a showplace," says Jim Canterbury of Bissnuss Inc., USFilter's Charleston, W.V.-based representative. "Ron and his team keep the place immaculate. Operators come from far and wide to tour the plant every year."
National award winners were recognized at the EPA National Clean Water Act Recognition Awards Ceremony on Monday, Oct. 4, 2004, in New Orleans, at the Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC). Ron Byrnside accepted the award on behalf of the Dunbar Sanitary Board.
Ghosh Engineers of Charleston, W.V., is the engineer for this project.
USFilter Corp. (www.usfilter.com), a Siemens company (www.siemens.com), delivers cost-effective, reliable water and wastewater treatment systems and services to municipal, industrial, commercial and institutional customers worldwide. It has annual revenues of $1.1 billion, and employs 6,000 worldwide. USFilter is part of Siemens' Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S), which provides innovative solutions and services designed to improve competitiveness in processing and manufacturing industries and in infrastructure. In fiscal 2003 (to Sept. 30) I&S employed a total of 25,000 people worldwide and achieved total sales of US$4 billion (EUR 4.012 billion).
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