When the mid-1950s wastewater treatment plant became too small to meet demand, the community of Washington, Iowa, decided to build new and look for as many operational efficiencies as possible to help hold down operating costs. The new $15 million plant went online in August 2012 to serve the 7,200 residents.A 6.4 mgd sequencing batch reactor (SBR) facility with UV disinfection and 17 million gallons of flow equalization replaced the old 2 mgd single-stage trickling filter plant. The modern plant performs better while saving energy and money.All automated“Everything is run off the SCADA system,” says Fred Doggett, plant superintendent. Besides
