Bio-Microbics Small Communities ~ BIG Options: "No Water Wasted Here!"
•Download as PPT, PDF•
2 likes•3,288 views
This document summarizes Bio-Microbics, a 20-year old company that offers effective and certified wastewater treatment alternatives to conventional wastewater treatment plants and septic systems. It describes several of their treatment technologies for residential and commercial applications, including extended aeration, fixed-film, membrane bioreactors, and greywater recycling. It also discusses their stormwater treatment technologies. The document emphasizes that decentralized wastewater technologies can provide more cost-effective and sustainable long-term wastewater management solutions compared to centralized systems.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Bio-Microbics Small Communities ~ BIG Options: "No Water Wasted Here!"
Similar to Bio-Microbics Small Communities ~ BIG Options: "No Water Wasted Here!" (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Bio-Microbics Small Communities ~ BIG Options: "No Water Wasted Here!"
- 2. Wastewater ManagementWastewater Management is a Global Concernis a Global Concern
- 3. About Bio-MicrobicsAbout Bio-Microbics Bio-Microbics offers effective alternatives to conventional wastewater treatment plants and environmentally safe, cost efficient and certified. These systems are and septic systems. Builders/developers or architects and engineers currently undertaking new construction or renovation projects can contact them for further information for commercial and residential properties, including single-family and clustered subdivisions. •History of company: Bio-Microbics is 20-year old company created to focus on the onsite market our approaches to help our distributors engaging the public and key stakeholders, such as engineers, realtors and builders, elected officials, environmental organizations, and others, in building a stronger water quality ethic and stewardship. Offering solutions for: •“Micro-scale” designs and technologies that integrate wastewater, stormwater, landscape and other low-impact development tools, and reuse/reclamation and water conservation systems at the individual site or cluster system level •“Macro-scale” cumulative impact models that integrate wastewater, stormwater, landscape and other low-impact development tools, and reuse/reclamation, and water conservation systems at the community, watershed or regional level, and that accurately predict water hydrology and fate and transport mechanisms for pollutants causing public health and environmental risks.
- 5. Aside fromicecaps, this is the simplified “daily-use” of freshwaterin the hydrological cycle. It is said that every molecule of waterhas passed through living organisms 7 times. Nature does not make more water, it has recycled it for millions of years. Wejust needto“manage”it better…
- 7. Rural Communities require major "Small-Scale" supportRural Communities require major "Small-Scale" support Environmental Infrastructure •Educate on the options available to support environmental goals and manage wastewater generated by the community. •Training Public Housing Authorities on technologies, maintenance, and general operations. Affordable Housing Development •Programs and educational workshops designed to prepare rural residents for homeownership. •Communities grow when generations can afford own homes and not concentrated on one property. •First Nations, villages, and other tribal communities can prosper when housing supply can improve. Economic & Leadership Development •Again, training Public Housing Authorities on technologies, maintenance, and general operations. •Able to communicate your city’s sustainability performance and goals in a consistent format Community Development Financing •The Leadership then will create rural communities to create a vision, set goals and implement an action plan for community development projects. •Make it a priority to work with First Nations, villages & other tribal communities.
- 8. The situation in small townsThe situation in small towns can be characterized as followscan be characterized as follows Low Density • Land in smaller towns tends to be significantly cheaper • Lower densities requires greater infrastructure costs, especially in the case of individual connections Lack of institutional/infrastructure capacity • Typically have not been served by national or regional water utilities. • Decentralization widely adopted for single systems, but hard to manage or receive utility revenue for compliance. • Local governments would like the power to operate a water utility, however lack the capital and skills. Availability of alternative water sources • At the smallest level of urban settlement, residents often rely on natural water resources such as rivers, springs, or wells. • Others may have own boreholes/wells Lower Incomes • Incomes are based on “cost of living” • Higher cost of living are in larger towns with a more competitive labor market
- 10. Growing populations + economic growth =
- 11. • Performance-based onsite wastewater treatment systems exist • Product standards & regulatory models get updated, adjusted, and applied. Not your grandma’sNot your grandma’s septic systemseptic system
- 12. Centralized Sewering can be complicated & costlyCentralized Sewering can be complicated & costly
- 14. The Driving ForceThe Driving Force (2015 EPA Statistics)(2015 EPA Statistics) • 25% of US homes (+115 million) currently have onsite systems • 37% of new-home construction will utilize onsite systems • These can include greywater treatment & recycling systems • Added drip-tube irrigation or other water reuse systems • 10 to 20% of olderonsite systems fail each year • Environmental concerns with watersheds and aquifers • NPDES Permit Program (surface discharge) • Stormwater Phase II Regulations (prohibiting certain discharge drainage)
- 15. Bio-Microbics, Inc. ProfileBio-Microbics, Inc. Profile • 4 different “AWARD-WINNING” wastewater treatment technologies • Extended Aeration (RollsAIR®) • Submerged Fixed-film (FAST®) • Trickling Filter (SeptiTech® STAAR™) • Membrane BioReactors (BioBarrier®) • 3 different greywater treatment technologies • Shower-to-toilet (Recover®) • Retrofit-under-the-sink (InnovaPRO®) • Total greywater recycling (BioBarrier® GWMBR®) • 3 different stormwater treatment technologies • Linear Rainwater Filtration device (d-Rain Joint®) • Litter Control Screening (StormTEE®) • Sediment / Oil Separator (BioSTORM®) • Other treatment, transfer, screening, & accessory products to customize system to projects & clients’ needs. • Continuous R&D and product acquisitions to expand product offering into growing water market.
- 16. Filametous Fungi Nematode (with eggs) Rotifer Free Swimming Ciliate Stalked Ciliate Suctorian Flagella Oligochaete (worm) Sarcodina
- 17. “Onsite” Treatment • Primary Septic Tank Effluent (STE) • BOD/TSS 125-150 mg/L • Secondary Typical Treatment Level • < 30/30 BOD/TSS • Tertiary Treatment Level 1 (TS-1) • < 15/15 BOD/TSS + More • Treatment Level 2 (TS-2) • <10/10 BOD/TSS + More
- 19. Primary Treatment • Screening and Sedimentation • Septic or Trash Tank(s) • STEP or STEG Tanks • Pump Station(s) • Grit Vault(s) or Headwork(s) • Grease Trap(s) maybe required
- 20. Secondary Treatment Aeration Treatment Process Options! Aerobic Bacteria growing under certain conditions •Submerged, Fixed-Film Activated Sludge Treatment System •Smart Trickling Anaerobic/Aerobic Recirculating Filter System •A “bubbling, rolling” Extended Aeration Treatment System •Membrane BioReactors with or without supplemental aeration Clarification (only if necessary) Additional Removal of TSS and/or Nutrients
- 21. Tertiary Treatment • High Nutrient Removal • High Effluent Quality • Additional BOD/TSS removal • Additional Nitrification removal • Additional Denitrification removal • Additional Phosphorus removal
- 23. Decentralized technologies to create permanent infrastructure that provide: •More cost-effective and provides longer-term options •Easier to maintain with no added costs of treatment operators •Protection of public health & the environment •Onsite water reuse opportunities to reduce dependencies on potable water sources •Solutions for remote locations and ecologically-sensitive areas
- 24. Single Family DwellingsSingle Family Dwellings Clustered SubdivisionsClustered Subdivisions High Strength CommercialHigh Strength Commercial Failed System RenovationFailed System Renovation
- 27. What Is High-Strength Waste? • High BOD, COD, & High TSS • High Fats, Oils & Grease (FOG) – Commercial Kitchens • Anything that is not “residential waste” is high-strength • FYI, adding a greywater recycling system to a property, (where it reduces water consumption but not the waste) is considered high-strength.
- 28. The Technology – How Well Does It Work? Recirculation Low vacuum pressure (up to 7.5 psi) BioBarrier® Mixed Liquor MLSS 2,000 – 10,000 mg/l Flow BOD < 4 mg/l TSS < 2 mg/l Turbidity < 0.5 NTU Permeate
- 29. 29
- 30. Toilet flushing water back water BioBarrier Plant Toilets and bathrooms and laundry Reservoir 30
- 31. Cost ComparisonCost Comparison (Capital expenditures and O&M) -EPA Response to Congress On Use of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems, April 1997. Typical Small CommunityTypical Small Community 135 homes (~450 people)135 homes (~450 people) • Centralized Wastewater System (collection and treatment) = $149 - $235/home/month • Decentralized Systems = $38/home/month
- 33. • BOD/TSS detections and undetectable E.coli. • capacity for1 person to 2500+ people • Low Operation/Maintenance Costs • Certified: Nitrogen Reduction & Water Reuse • Adheres to “WaterEfficiency” standards in most "Green-Building” Guidelines. Ideal for winery wastewater treatment system projects (can be 35 times stronger than domestic wastewater!); and can be higher during harvest activities
- 36. How can the dispersal area be smaller?How can the dispersal area be smaller? With the soil permeability requirements, typically the Soil-based treatment systems can only use the ranges of 10 to 90 min/inch permeability. With an ultrafiltration membrane system, such as the BioBarrier® Membrane BioReactor (MBR), permeate is water; and therefore, the permeability rate has a much wider range.
- 41. 1800 L/Dto 3700 m3 /D WastewaterTreatment Systems FAST® “submerged, fixed-film media” systems are the most versatile and optimized treatment systems of it’s kind for exceptional microbial growth with energy-efficient aeration system. Designed for single-home to small municipality! •Efficient treatment & handles daily capacity for 1 person to 5000+ people •Sizing based on regulatory agency calculations, as well as, input & data •Low Operation and Maintenance Costs •Approved for most International Standards •Self-Regulating – Operation does not depend upon the skill of an operator and handles surges, overloads, and light loads.
- 43. Consistent Treatment Performance Performance Time Most other technologies will have variable treatment performance…Most other technologies will have variable treatment performance…FAST® technology provides a stable treatment process thatFAST® technology provides a stable treatment process that minimizes the variability in treatment performance.minimizes the variability in treatment performance.
- 44. Extended Aeration Systems: Designed to be the simplest to install, operate, and maintain large commercial and community wastewater treatment system of its type. From Engineered with non-corrosive, proprietary devices (LIXOR®), the RollsAIR® provides robust performance. Furtherinformation can be found on the website: •RollsAIR™ Extended Aeration Systems •RollsAIR™ Extended Aeration Systems For Larger Commercial
- 46. 46
- 47. TESTIMONIAL: ~ James Englehardt, PhD University of Miami (UM) College of Engineering Professor Chief Investigator for “Design for Autonomous Net-Zero Water Buildings (Dormitory)”
- 49. Individual/Residential Greywater Treatment & Water Recycling
- 50. Reduce water consumptionReduce water consumption using greywater treatment &using greywater treatment & recyclingrecycling
- 54. Leak Detection Number of homes No. of toilets in each home No. of drips per minute 1,000 3 1 Drips per day: Liters per day: Gallons (US)/day: Gallons (US)/day:
- 55. Municipal Stormwater Treatment & Litter Control Screening
- 56. Intro ducing
- 57. BioSTORM® Explained BioSTORM® is a pre-engineered stormwater treatment system designed to remove trash, sediment, oil and other pollutants from stormwater flows. 2-stage treatment including primary screening and secondary liquid/solid and oil/water separation. Off-line design, housed in pre-cast concrete tanks. Flexible sizing, simple maintenance.
- 58. How It Works 1. StormTEE® deflector screen 2. Forward flow and smaller solids pass through the StormTEE and enter 2nd -stage treatment chamber.
- 59. 3. BioSTORM’s separation module 4. Sediment descends to the bottom of the tank for storage and easy removal. 5. Oils entering the system coalesce and rise to the water surface 6. Outlet effluent pipe for discharge
- 65. To continue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forwaterand sanitation, most municipal “Operations Programs” should include maintenance sections…
- 66. With properdesign, construction and operatortraining regarding the sewersystemof a municipality, it’s important to develop the following Programs to help prevent, identify, and/oraddress issues: • PRE-TREATMENT PROGRAM • CORROSION CONTROL PROGRAM • FATS, OILS, AND GREASE PROGRAM • STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM It is equally important to identify the best PARTNERto combat these issues...
- 68. THANK YOU!
Editor's Notes
- Bio-Microbics offers plenty of sewage treatment systems that are effective alternatives to conventional wastewater treatment plants and environmentally safe, cost efficient and certified. These systems are and septic systems. Builders/developers or architects and engineers currently undertaking new construction or renovation projects can contact them for further information for commercial and residential properties, including single-family and clustered subdivisions. History of company: Bio-Microbics is 20-year old company created to focus on the onsite market our approaches to help our distributors engaging the public and key stakeholders, such as engineers, realtors and builders, elected officials, environmental organizations, and others, in building a stronger water quality ethic and stewardship. Offering solutions for: • “Micro-scale” designs and technologies that integrate wastewater, stormwater, landscape and other low-impact development tools, and reuse/reclamation and water conservation systems at the individual site or cluster system level • “Macro-scale” cumulative impact models that integrate wastewater, stormwater, landscape and other low-impact development tools, and reuse/reclamation, and water conservation systems at the community, watershed or regional level, and that accurately predict water hydrology and fate and transport mechanisms for pollutants causing public health and environmental risks. Sheila Frace, Deputy Director, USEPA Office of Wastewater Management, gave a keynote address on “The Role of Decentralized Treatment within U.S. Wastewater Infrastructure.” Dr. Lynn Broaddus, Principal of Broadview Collaborative & Trustee of Water Environment Federation, gave a keynote address on “New Opportunities in Decentralized/Distributed Wastewater Treatment and Reuse.” Dr. Broaddus reviewed a wide range of offerings for treatment and reuse from small individual systems in a rural/residential environment, to very large systems in an urban/commercial environment.
- People think septic systems are out in the middle of no where when the truth of the matter is these wastewater treatment systems go where there are people…no matter how many. to treat wastewater to a high degree, while keeping it onsite. This type of decentralized treatment and potential reuse opportunity offers a solution that is sustainable, efficient and highly practical. With any new technology or process, there can be some uncertainty and skepticism. With water reuse, improper care of the system can lead to public health issues. To help address questions about NSF Certified Onsite Systems, NSF International verifies that all design and performance requirements of the “Standard” have been met, and confirms through testing that the effluent meets pre-determined water quality criteria for designated uses.
- Aside from icecaps, this is the simplified “daily-use” of freshwater in the hydrological cycle. It is said that every molecule of water has passed through living organisms 7 times. Nature does not make more water, it has recycled it for millions of years. We just need to manage it better…
- Approaches to engaging the public and key stakeholders, such as engineers, realtors and builders, elected officials, environmental organizations, and others, in building a stronger water quality ethic and stewardship Scenario A—Leadership by small communities in blending water and wastewater into a pragmatic, long-term vision of development Scenario B—Adoption by urban utilities, motivated by water shortages and high costs of replacing hard path infrastructure, of integrated approaches to restore and preserve a natural water “mass balance” Scenario C—Refinement of innovative approaches for rainwater retention/filtration, wastewater treatment, and reuse on individual properties or in cluster systems Scenario D—Reform of planning and regulations to promote more flexible, integrated water and infrastructure development • Scenario E—Advocacy by environmentalists of an ethic that supports restoration and preservation of natural ecosystems
- True cost calculations comparing monetary and non-monetary costs of soft path and hard path infrastructure • Utility and other management models and approaches to integrated hard and soft path water infrastructure, and new tools such as asset management and environmental management systems • Innovative policies, regulatory and management mechanisms which integrate soft path and hard path solutions across water resource sectors and other aspects of public interest, including: – Sustainable community initiatives – Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), trading programs and other market incentives – Environmental stewardship projects – Innovative utility and management structures
- The criteria considered mainly consist of technical performance, economic profit and sustainability criteria. Decision makers usually take a number of indices into account for the evaluation of these concepts. In this case, the criteria evaluated were as follows: • Reliability of the system (RS). The selected technology must be reliable, that is, the system must have adequate performance, under specific conditions and for a period of time [22]. This criterion considers the following aspects of reliability: the variability of treatment effectiveness under normal and emergency operation, the probability of mechanical failures, the impacts of failures upon effluent quality, the way the process responds to changes in affluent, and the minimum requirements for water quality inlet to optimal performance of technology. • Operational simplicity (OS). The choice should take into account the special needs of system operations and maintenance. If the operation of the system requires skilled workers, it can be rejected by decision makers, in particular if located in remote areas. Operational and maintenance simplicity should be a prime affair, since simplicity could determine the long-term operating success of the system. • Efficiency in reducing pathogenic microorganisms (EP). Wastewater treated must be disinfected to the extent that the final water quality will comply with the regulatory standard or requirements for a specific reuse. This criterion evaluates not only the ability to eliminate pathogens, but also the ability to remove other undesirable contaminants. The efficiency of a process can be evaluated on past experience, and from full-scale plants or pilot-plant studies [23]. • Capital cost (CC) is another major aspect to take into account in the economic criteria, which greatly influences the selection of a particular technology [16]. This criterion includes, on one hand, costs for construction works and the procurement and installation of electro-mechanical equipment necessary to implement the full system. On the other, it includes the procurement cost of the space necessary to accommodate the facilities. • Operation & Maintenance cost (OM) can be as important, or even more, than the construction costs over the life-time of the system [24]. The criterion includes all costs associated with the different processes of operation and maintenance of each technological alternative, such as maintenance and repair cost, personnel cost, energy cost and chemical products cost among others. • Additional treatments (AT). Some disinfection technologies need, previously or subsequently, additional treatments, or even subsequent treatments of waste generated. Dechlorination [25], the destruction of residual ozone, rejection of water treatment in membrane systems, among others processes, may be necessary and should be considered as a cost. • Environmental impacts (EI) take into consideration the point of view of the local population affected by the facilities, focusing on the inconvenience the facility may cause: the production of unwanted noises in the surrounding area, the aesthetic or visual impact caused by the presence of the facilities on the landscape, bad smells which can be produced by the different treatment technologies, and other unwanted emissions like gases or vapors that should be minimized. • Use of natural resources (NR) shows the consumption of natural resources, mainly energy, which is determined by the different treatment technologies [26]. • Safety Risk (SR). Evaluation of both human and environmental risks, that is, to assess the safety for workers in different processes, and the security in case of bad operations or accidents.
- …and this could be the solution. At the turn of the 19th century, the steel industry was huge until environmental and economic conditions forced it to scale down infrastructure to make the mini mill. The development of steel thus became cheaper due to the smaller footprint, energy needs and capital costs. My point? The development of small-scale water and wastewater treatment systems is something to consider to solve the same problems.The tough thing is to run the pipe to the treatment plants. The water treatment plant is a long distance away, and so is the wastewater treatment plant. This procedure is not cheap, but because regulators understand it, they can help drive planning around these costly utilities. In the traditional regulatory sense, there is no solution in some jurisdictions: multiple homes sharing one septic system or well is difficult to conceive and even more difficult to police and regulate. These are the very small (public) systems that are common on many rural sites and very much so on many First Nations communities. These have fallen through the cracks after we have dealt with larger municipal systems and single-family systems via the plumbing code and well regulations. For the most part, it is our environmental and health inspectors who are left managing this grey area. But they may be trying to apply very large/municipal or very small system/single residence theories to the applications. Performance-based systems exist and this could be a solution. There are third-party-tested data and certifications to provide “product standards” that are applied and regulatory models are regularly adjusted as newer technologies emerge or a “Change of Guard”, as it were, for technology approvals occurs.
- These multibillion-dollar giants are costly, tax intensive and often built based on plans for changes in growth or intensity of the area. We don’t take into account future changes in urban sprawl, policy changes like water conservation, energy efficiency or even over-strength chemistry conditions in our wastewaters that result in these changes. Such projects also do not take into account changing regulations, emerging chemicals or even climate change. These factors are impossible to predict in some cases. We need to put a &quot;value&quot; on water as such that everyone have the right to enough water necessary for life. The treatment of water should be thought of as a commodity. If something is provided free and we have no stake in providing it, then we do not value it. This can be true whether we are living in Phoenix with a lawn full of Kentucky bluegrass or a villager in Malawi. This also brings up a sore point with some Civil Engineers I’ve talked to in the past. An interesting response they had to receiving solicitations about a “charity” Foundation saying that they drilled approximately 200 wells last year in a country like Kenya or other emerging market to drum up fundraising and contributions to support their work, the one engineer I spoke with asked them “How many are still operating?” Their response was that they didn’t know. In reality, if more water utilities treated water as a commodity, less water might be wasted. Instead of water bills containing, something like, a “water commodity charge&quot; or “water scarcity charge“, the utilities charge you not for the water itself, but for the infrastructure (pipes, treatment plants, etc.) and O & M costs. The water itself is generally assigned no value. So, the treatment of water is put at a high price, but the value in throwing it away in the nearest waterway is generally acceptable. Basically, since water is so cheap, we waste it. This is changing however, and we all know that now many utilities have tiered rates, or have implemented one of the aforementioned charges. Decentralized water technologies and designs are the keys to enhancing the performance of the nation’s aging centralized water, stormwater, and sewer systems and to assuring adequate water supplies and healthy ecosystems into the future.
- Monitoring and responsibility for these systems can match the large-system models or become regulated, but they must be monitored by an operating authority responsible for the system. a decentralized small system is still a challenge encompassing regulatory issues, questions of inspector education/jurisdiction and training. The concept of a decentralized small system is still a challenge encompassing regulatory issues, questions of inspector education/jurisdiction and training.
- In 1996, Bio-Microbics, Inc. was formed to manufacture and market FAST® wastewater treatment systems for the light commercial and residential onsite wastewater treatment markets. The treatment technology had been previously manufactured for the municipal, industrial and marine wastewater markets. Bio-Microbics has expanded its product offering to include other treatment devices for Originally developed for Marine Applications the single-home FAST high-strength commercial applications, nitrogen reduction, greywater treatment & reuse, stormwater & rainwater filtration from common pollutants from runoff, grease handling & removal, renovation of failing septic systems, developed an S.O.S.-Save Our Septic® Program various screening/filtration devices. These products, along with others in R&D, are creating substantial opportunities for company growth in the water and wastewater treatment industries.
- Advantages of Secondary Treatment Allows more buildable sites Allows smaller drain fields Allows direct discharge in some circumstances Drain fields last longer Better for pubic health and environment Recharges groundwater
- The higher the treatment, the more the cost. However, the Bio-Microbics BioBarrier system accomplishes these goals
- What are the main uses for the reuse of water?
- What we need is a blend of large- and small-scale concepts and regulations. We can cherry-pick some of the best practices from regulation. We may have to choose the middle gap between the plumbing code and well regulations and the larger-system policies and processes. At the very small end of the spectrum, the plumbing code can be somewhat upsized to handle multiple sites. A trained operating authority and an oversighting regulator, the health department, or chief building inspector also would be handy. This can also be structured in such a way that they would be no “loss of revenue” for the Community, just a better oversight for the community’s wastewater treatment needs.Monitoring and responsibility for these systems can match the large-system models or become regulated, but they must be monitored by an operating authority responsible for the system.At the drinking water end, we have the technology and the people to manage these sites. Professionals can handle systems that are larger than one home, in a manner that blends the certified technology in the plumbing code with a certified professional on a permanent, monitored service contract overseen by a local chief building official, public health unit or ministry inspector.
- BOD/TSS detections of less than 10 mg/L and undetectable E.coli. capacity for 1 person to 2500+ people Low Operation/Maintenance Costs Certified: EU 12566-3, NSF Std 40 class 1, 245 (nitrogen reduction), 350 (water reuse) Adheres to “Water Efficiency” standards in most &quot;Green-Building” Guidelines. Ideal for winery wastewater treatment system projects: Winery wastewater averages ~7700 mg/l BOD5 (35 times stronger than domestic wastewater); & during harvest activities can be as high as 12,000mg/L BOD5 and 6,000 mg/L TSS.
- There are several reasons to want to reduce the size of the dispersal area for the property owner. Whether it is cost of land to adding amenities, the typical size of a drain field takes up a lot of room that property owner sees as “open space.” This land can be reclaimed, if instead of a soil-based treatment/disposal system, an “Active Process Control and Treatment” with dispersal of clean water through the soil is installed. How does soil-based treatment differ with the BioBarrier MBR? In the case of a typical septic system, the strength of the wastewater can vary tremendously depending on usage, garbage disposals, dishwashers, etc.; and is, in actuality, a pretty loose estimate. This can be mitigated by using an aerobic treatment unit, instead of a septic tank; as long as the ATU is sized properly, working, serviced (including sludge management and pumping), and isn&apos;t killed off by the use of quats. The design of the system then must allow the BOD5 to be spread out evenly. The demand for oxygen is less than the passive delivery of oxygen in the soil. Otherwise, the soil will clog with anaerobic slime. And finally, after an unknown amount of treatment the water has a low enough BOD5 to pass through the pores in the soil without clogging by aerobic sludge or anaerobic slime determined by the soil&apos;s permeability. You can get a fairly accurate estimate of permeability, but that has very little weight. In the Illinois Private Sewage Code, the permeability isn&apos;t even weighted linearly. Illinois has category 1 through 12 types. On the most permeable end, Category 2, the actual rate at which the water flows through the soil (Ksat) is 1/170th of the mandated loading rate measured in gallons per square foot per day. At the other extreme, Category 12, in tight clay soils, the state loading rate is 38 times the soil permeability of water (Ksat).
- For some of the Benefits of water recycling we can reference the US EPA; “In addition to providing a dependable, locally‐controlled water supply, water recycling provides tremendous environmental benefits. By providing an additional source of water, water recycling can help us find ways to decrease the diversion of water from sensitive ecosystems. Other benefits include decreasing wastewater discharges and reducing and preventing pollution. Recycled water can also be used to create or enhance wetlands and riparian habitats.” The big question, yet to be answered, would appear to be: Would a structure utilizing a complete wastewater reuse system, need to be connected to a septic or sewer system? Thomas Cassidy, Esq., of Counsel, Eckert Seamens, LLC, and NOWRA Chief Lobbyist in Washington, is seeking a positive answer to this question. Conversations with other attendees suggest that in urban locations the water and sewer utilities do not want to miss out on the revenues from buildings that are deploying complete wastewater reuse. In non‐urban sites where onsite septic systems are usually installed, the building officials are reluctant to embrace this new concept. We posed the question to Amad Sharaf,P.Eng. of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in respect to the Ontario Building Code. His answer, based on Part 8 of the Ontario Building Code, was that a septic system would still be required. This answer was not unexpected. Additional research shows that the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) has developed new American National Standards NSF/ANSI 350 and 350‐1 for “evaluating and approving water reuse treatment technologies.” NSF/ANSI Standard 350: Onsite Residential and Commercial Water Reuse Treatment Systems NSF/ANSI Standard 350‐1: Onsite Greywater Treatment Systems for Subsurface Discharge
- EFFLUENT CRITERIA “These standards encompass both residential and commercial applications divided into those that treat all the waste‐ water flow from a building and those that treat the greywater portion only. While both standards are appropriate for non potable water use, Standard 350 has more restrictive effluent quality requirements than those of Standard 350‐1.” “Both Standards 350 and 350‐1 are based on 26 weeks of continuous testing with regularly scheduled sampling throughout, typically three days a week. The purpose of such a lengthy test with high volume of sampling is to assess the reliability of the product over time.” ref. Thomas Bruursema – NSF. In addition to the noted influent requirements, there are loading sequence requirements for greywater treatment systems and daily loading requirements for wastewater treatment systems for full performance evaluation. Two wastewater reuse systems have already been tested, certified, and listed under NSF/ANSI 350. One of them is the BioBarrier® MBR by Bio‐Microbics Inc.
- “We selected the Bio-Microbics® BioBarrier ® system [FOR THE NETZERO WATER DORM] based on its competitive cost and projected effluent quality, including our particular need to bring total nitrogen to below drinking water standards in the effluent. In fact, with the addition of alkalinity and ethanol feeders, nitrogen was never an issue, and the system ran trouble-free for the duration of the 2-year experiment with no attention other than chemical tank recharge.”
- Onsite soil based systems no matter how complex or well managed are temporary. Even with no mistakes the soil that is the last part of the treatment process will clog with soluble organics and or biosolids. Then new land will be needed. The only exception to this is using an MBR like the Bio-Microbics BioBarrier to remove pollution to below detectable limits thereby using the soil purely as a conduit to the groundwater table and not part of the treatment process. The MBR process is unique in it&apos;s intrinsic ability to not only have the treatment capability to accomplish this task but also that membrane clogging because of accident or lack of maintenance will prevent any recycled water that isn&apos;t fully treated from ever contacting the dispersal field thereby shortening it&apos;s life. Loading rates for soil based treatment systems are sized to accommodate clogging by organics and are usually from 50 to 100 times larger than necessary hydraulically. With an MBR, the dispersal area is simply measured for it&apos;s hydraulic conductivity, a safety factor is added and that&apos;s it. Pure engineering. No guesswork as is always the case with soil based treatment systems. In over 4 years and 110 operating installations in Illinois we have shown that this method of MBR treatment and using the soil as a conduit and not part of the treatment process is a viable method. This makes an MBR with soil water dispersal as permanent as any big pipe public sewer design and far more environmentally friendly. All this while taking up a small fraction of the area of a soil based treatment system.
- Introducing the BioSTORM® pre-engineered stormwater treatment system!
- BioSTORM® is a pre-engineered stormwater treatment system designed to remove trash, sediment, oil and other pollutants from stormwater flows. The unique off-line design consists of a patented StormTEE® self-cleaning deflector screen and a modular separation/coalescing unit, all housed in readily-available precast concrete tanks. The versatility of the system allows both treatment components to be used separately for different applications, or together to form a complete BioSTORM system. Various sizes are available depending on local site and environmental considerations.
- 1. The first stage of the BioSTORM® system utilizes the StormTEE® deflector screen to separate trash and larger solids from the stormwater flow. 2. Forward flow and smaller solids pass through the StormTEE, continue through the outlet tee and enter the main treatment chamber containing the BioSTORM’s modular separation unit, or discharge back into the storm sewer.
- 3. BioSTORM’s separation module contains coalescing media that acts as both a liquid/solids separation barrier and an oil/water separator. 4. Smaller sediment is caught in the media’s honeycomb labyrinth and eventually descends to the bottom of the tank for storage and easy removal.
- Routine Maintenance – will vary depending on site conditions and local rainfall amounts. Like most stormwater treatment systems, maintenance will vary greatly depending on local conditions and frequency of rain events. Routine maintenance consists of: Check the solids level in each tank. If oils have entered the system, they will be floating just above the coalescing media inside the BioSTORM separation module. This layer of oily water should be pumped out. Lastly, swab the StormTEE® vigorously several times to dislodge any debris or trash that may be lodged in or against the angled slots. Routine Procedure: 1. Check solids level in each tank. 2. If oils have entered the system, they will be floating just above the coalescing media inside the BioSTORM® separation module. This layer of oily water should be pumped out. 3. Lastly, swab the StormTEE® vigorously several times to dislodge any debris or trash that may be lodged in or against the angled slots.
- BioSTORM® Recap Pre-engineered system removes trash, sediment, oil & other suspended solids Maintains treatment performance regardless of hydraulic surge flows Unique modular design provides efficient liquid/solids and oil/water separation Easy to install – mounts easily in pre-cast tanks Easy to maintain – requires only periodic removal of debris Flexible treatment sizing capacities. Retrofits into existing systems Installs into readily available pre-cast tanks
- By simplifying the infrastructure of a community, village, or small municipality, the added maintenance, operation, and infrastructure for wastewater management is dramatically reduced. The water treatment plant providing potable water can be maintained easier. The local aquifer is recharged rather than throwing away wastewater in the waterways. Combined sewer overflows, leaks, or pipe clogs or bursts would be a thing of the past. There is still oversee and service to provide income, it’s just a better way to manage water and provide opportunities for water reuse. These technologies will beautify our cities and towns, stimulate our local economies, and improve our health and environment. However, implementing these ideas will require a major change in the way society approaches water systems.