Ducks Walking on Water?

by Heather Jennings, PE

Bio Energizer^® Reduces Sludge Over 40% at Utah Municipal WTP

The case study described below was a project that I worked on with a small-lagoon municipal system so overwhelmed with solids that state action was being taken. The ducks on the other side of the lagoon from me literally looked as though they were walking on the water surface! Honestly, that was a new one for me. We can help prevent solids buildup with little capital costs and time! The case study is below.

Case Summary

The system included a series of four lagoons that tapered to a depth of 6 feet, although at this time only Ponds 1 and 2 were being evaluated for treatment as they were in use. The influent consisted of domestic waste as well as septic. Pond 1 was specifically being addressed due to a state mandate. In 2016 the surfacing sludge prevented a sludge judge from being performed. The system needed to reduce the sludge in its lagoon wastewater system to meet state requirements quickly in preparation for additional capital changes to the system. Dredging costs were more than the town could afford, and an alternative method for dealing with sludge issues was being sought.

The treatment started with Pond 1 in March 2016 with a dosage of Bio Energizer^® at 7 ppm with the intent of aggressively reducing solids due to pressure from the state. At 8 months, Pond 1 sludge was reduced from 2.7 feet to 1.5 feet, or 44.1%. Pond 2 sludge was reduced from 1.5 feet to 1.02 feet, or 45.0%. This translated to a total of 4.5 million gallons of sludge being removed from Pond 1 and 1.8 million gallons of sludge from Pond 2, although Pond 1 was the only one receiving treatment. This is the equivalent of 438 truckloads of sludge being removed.

Click here to read the full report.

More information about Bio Energizer^® is available at https://probiotic.com/product/bioenergizer/.