During a severe downpour on June 28, the Wamego, Kan., wastewater treatment plant experienced flows at almost four times its designed flow capacity. While floodwaters surged with up to seven inches of rain flooding area homes and farms, wastewater service was uninterrupted and the integrity of the system remained intact.
In operation just over two years, the Wamego plant is designed to handle three quarters of a million gallons per day. During the Monday morning downpour, the plant received flows up to 2.7 million gallons. Under such strenuous conditions, wastewater plants often can overflow or bypass solids, resulting in unsanitary and potentially dangerous situations.
Plant Operator Bob Elder arrived at the plant about an hour after the rain started. "At 7:00 that morning we were at a million gallons, pretty unusual for that early," he said. "I couldnt believe how good the water looked with that much flow," said Elder. "The water was never dirty or anything. Most any other plant would have blown it."
The new biological wastewater treatment plant custom-designed by Aero-Mod Systems more than doubled the treatment size of the old lagoon system. With a capacity of 2.25 million gallons, the city of Wamego can now expand and add housing developments without fear of overloading the system.
This biological treatment system features a patented process with patented equipment. Since installation, officials have recorded no violation of effluent requirements, a claim the old lagoon system could not make. In fact, quality of the effluent that flows into the Kansas River is so high that measures of suspended solids and wastewater strength (BOD and TSS) have been virtually undetectable.
At the heart of the Wamegos plant is the ClarAtor Clarifier, a patented, stainless steel clarifier that features no moving parts under water and the ability to regulate the effluent flow rate. The plant is energy efficient and has a small footprint to reduce capital costs. The ClarAtor is combined with the SEQUOX Biological Nutrient Removal Process, enabling the plant to handle peak flows due to infiltration and inflow.
Designed with the operator in mind, Aero-Mod systems feature stainless steel construction for long term reliability, simple controls for operational consistency, few moving parts for easy maintenance and common-wall, cast-in-place concrete construction for easy expansion. Aero-Mod Systems, part of the Biological Wastewater Systems Division of Waterlink, has more than 20 years experience in the design and manufacture of biological wastewater treatment solutions, holds several major equipment and process patents and has hundreds of installations worldwide. It also offers several stand-alone products for solids dewatering.
