Evoqua technology selected for upgrade of PA wastewater treatment plant

Jan. 20, 2020

BioMag® system was selected for its ability to provide additional treatment capacity in Bellefonte Borough Authority (BBA) Wastewater Treatment Plant and provide excellent effluent quality to the growing community.

Bellefonte Borough Authority (BBA) Wastewater Treatment Facility located in Central Pennsylvania discharges to a prized trout stream (Spring Creek). BBA needed a solution to manage growth for the next 20 years since the plant was nearing the available permit load. After a thorough evaluation of treatment options, Evoqua’s BioMag&circledR; system was selected which fit into the existing plant footprint for an affordable, practical approach, and provide a 41% organic capacity increase. — Bellefonte Borough Authority (BBA) Wastewater Treatment Facility located in Central Pennsylvania discharges to a prized trout stream (Spring Creek). BBA needed a solution to manage growth for the next 20 years since the plant was nearing the available permit load. After a thorough evaluation of treatment options, Evoqua’s BioMag® system was selected which fit into the existing plant footprint for an affordable, practical approach, and provide a 41% organic capacity increase.

PITTSBURGH, PA, JAN 20, 2020 -- Evoqua Water Technologies, along with Nittany Engineering & Associates and sales partner Riordan Materials Corporation, recently completed the upgrade of the Bellefonte Borough Authority (BBA) Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The treatment plant, which serves customers from both the Bellefonte Borough and surrounding townships, has a maximum capacity of 3.2 million gallons per day (MGD). The plant’s effluent is discharged to Spring Creek, which is arguably one of the finest wild trout streams in Pennsylvania.

Due to anticipated population growth in the region over the next 20 years, the BBA Wastewater Treatment Plant needed a solution to augment their aging activated sludge system as well as their Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) system that had outlived their expected life. The treatment process also needed to fit into the plant’s confined land footprint and include an affordable, reliable approach to handle increasing pollutant loads and storm events.

Nittany Engineering & Associates, the engineering consultant on the project, conducted a thorough evaluation of treatment options available. Evoqua’s BioMag® system was selected for its ability to provide additional treatment capacity in the existing plant footprint and provide excellent effluent quality to the growing community. The upgrade would also include new clarifiers and a jet aeration system from Evoqua for the activated sludge system.

A view of the new BioMag&circledR; system magnetite removal drums located at the Bellefonte Borough Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Central Pennsylvania. The innovative BioMag System infuses magnetite (fully oxidized, iron ore particles) into biological floc, enhancing secondary clarification. The magnetic removal drum equipment strips the magnetite from waste sludge before returning the magnetite back to the Activated Sludge process. — A view of the new BioMag® system magnetite removal drums located at the Bellefonte Borough Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Central Pennsylvania. The innovative BioMag System infuses magnetite (fully oxidized, iron ore particles) into biological floc, enhancing secondary clarification. The magnetic removal drum equipment strips the magnetite from waste sludge before returning the magnetite back to the Activated Sludge process.

The innovative BioMag system infuses magnetite – fine, fully oxidized, iron ore particles – into biological floc, enhancing secondary clarification. The system increases settling rates, capacity, performance and stability, and meets enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) permits. For the BBA, the BioMag system was incorporated into the existing plant providing excellent clarification performance at high clarifier loadings and lower ammonia emissions. As a result, the plant includes a 41% organic capacity increase to treat higher future influent loadings, a significantly improved sludge treatment process with cleaner, better screened biosolids, and better odor control.

During the construction process, the complexity of the project increased with record rainfalls. The success of this project was a result of the thorough evaluation of treatment options to provide the lowest capital and operational costs for the plant, while providing the best effluent quality when compared to other treatment technologies available.

“This project will provide additional treatment capacity to a growing region while discharging high quality effluent to the environment. We cannot think of anything more valuable than our local water resources and protecting them for the future,” says Ralph Stewart, Authority Manager.

About Evoqua
Evoqua Water Technologies is a leading provider of mission critical water treatment solutions, offering services, systems and technologies to support its customers’ full water lifecycle needs. Evoqua Water Technologies has worked to protect water, the environment and its employees for more than 100 years, earning a reputation for quality, safety and reliability around the world. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Evoqua operates 160 locations in eight countries and, with over 200,000 installations and 87 service branches, is a leader in North American industrial, recreational, commercial and municipal water treatment, serving more than 38,000 customers worldwide.