Challenge
The city of Fruitland, MD, needed to expand the capacity of its wastewater treatment plant from 0.5 to 1.0 million gallons per day (MGD) while upgrading its level of treatment to include enhanced nutrient removal (ENR). The city also needed to upgrade its facility to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed project.
The existing wastewater treatment facility utilized a high-rate, single-state, trickling filter preceded by primary sedimentation and anaerobic digestion of raw and secondary settling tank solids. With this treatment process the facility was experiencing difficulty in meeting consistent BOD removal required by the 30/30 BOD / TSS National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
Solution
To correct this situation, the City of Fruitland entered into an agreement with the Maryland Department of Environment to install a new facility that complied with reducing nitrogen and phosphorous levels to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Initiative.
The OMNIFLO(R) Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) was selected because of its compact footprint and the ability to achieve enhanced nutrient removal within a two-tank layout. The OMNIFLO(R) SBR includes the patented VARI-CANT(R) jet aeration system from Siemens as well as a SCADA monitoring and controls system that utilizes a modem interconnection allowing remote access.
Results
The new system started up in December of 2002 and has been successful in meeting nitrogen levels of less than 3. 5 mg/l and phosphorus levels less than 1 mg/l. The average consistently exceeds the wastewater treatment design levels of 8 mg/l for nitrogen and 2 mg/l for phosphorus on a monthly basis.
The City of Fruitland wastewater facility has since received the Environmental Excellence Award from the Salisbury, MD Area Chamber of Commerce in 2004; received first place in the "Clearest Wastewater Finale Effluent Competition" from the Maryland Rural Water Association in 2003 and the Maryland Rural Water Association's Wastewater System of the Year Award in 2004.
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