Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
| Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||
| Type | wastewater treatment | ||
| Owner | RWSA | ||
| Built | late 1950s | ||
| Capacity | 15 MGD | ||
The Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant treats wastewater at a design flow of 15.0 million gallons per day (MGD) with a discharge to Moores Creek.
Construction history
The plant was built in two phases. The first section was built in the late 1950s and "included a grit basin, grit decanting bed, pre-aeration basins, intermediate, primary and final clarifiers, primary and secondary trickling filters, sludge drying beds, and primary and secondary digesters"[1].
The second phase consisted of an upgrade on the south side of Moores Creek in 1981, and "incorporated preliminary screening and grit removal, daily flow equalization, primary clarification, biological treatment, secondary clarification, chlorination and tertiary settling in flocculation and settling basins, as well as in final clarifiers." [1].
"In 1988, the aeration basins, which provide biological treatment, were retrofitted with limited modifications in an attempt to create an initial anoxic zone. Due to the fact that the anoxic zone is mixed using diffused aeration, the existing facility configuration can not reliably provide significant biological nutrient removal. Solids are thickened, anaerobically digested, and compressed through filter press equipment before disposal." [1].
Enhanced Nutrient Removal
The RWSA is under a consent order from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to upgrade the facility to have a peak flow capacity of 45 MGD by April 30, 2013. [2] The engineering firm Hazen and Sawyer designed the expansion, and construction is currently underway. [3]
Enhanced nutrient removal operations began at the wastewater plant in May 2011 and have already helped the RWSA reduce the amount of nitrogren and phosphorous released into the Rivanna River. [4] Before the ENR was activated, nitrogren readings were frequently in the 10 to 15 parts per million range. In August 2011, the average was 2.90 ppm. [4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 DEQ Project Site for Moores Creek
- ↑ Web. State Water Control Board Enforcement Action - Order by Consent Issued to Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ↑ Web. Report on Ongoing Projects, Thomas Frederick, RWSA Executive Director, Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority, July 26, 2011, retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Web. Executive Director's Report, Thomas L. Frederick, Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, retrieved September 23, 2011.