The city of Rushville, Indiana had to remedy a consent order filed in 2007 for its untreated combined sewer overflow discharges that were polluting the Flatrock River, a violation of the Clean Water Act. The city originally planned to install a 1 mgd stormwater storage tank, but was approached by Aqua-Aerobic representatives with a pilot test proposal utilizing a new technology.
The pilot proposal featured the AquaStorm Cloth Media Filter using 5-micron microfiber cloth media, which would be tested during five wet weather events. This study captured events from May through July 2015, and produced impressive results. The successful pilot test prompted the city to request a design for an AquaStorm filtration system in February 2016. The request came with two stipulations: The filters were to treat both dry and wet weather conditions, and alum coagulant was to be injected upstream of the filters to meet future effluent phosphorus limits and eliminate fine CSO particles.
Installing the filters
Startup of the two 14-disk AquaStorm filtration systems began in July 2017 with a design average flow rate of 1 mgd in dry conditions and peak wet weather flow rate of 12.6 mgd. Each cloth media disk is 6.6 feet in diameter and provides an effective filtration area of 53.8 square feet for a total filtration area of 1,506.4 square feet.
The filters were retrofitted into the plant’s existing, abandoned sand media filter structures, saving the city considerable capital costs. In addition, the new filtration system was $1 million less than the original, conventional storage tank design. The AquaStorm filter features a disk configuration and an outside-in flow path, which allows for three zones of solids removal. These zones are especially critical in wet weather applications due to the high solids typically associated with the first flush after wet weather events.
High-quality effluent
The AquaStorm cloth media filters experienced the first wet weather events shortly after startup in October and November 2017. Due to the continuous treatment capacity, no untreated overflows have occurred.
Rushville’s new tertiary/wet weather filtration system also included replacement of its existing gas chlorine disinfection system with a UV disinfection system. The UV system was installed in the existing tank, which also provided significant project cost savings.
Completion of the filtration/disinfection phase of the city’s upgrade project was achieved five years earlier than required by the state regulation agency. This project is the first AquaStorm filter installation in the nation for dual tertiary/wet weather treatment and will keep approximately 50 million gallons of raw sewage from entering the nearby Flatrock River annually.
“With the addition of the AquaStorm Filter System and new UV disinfection system, Rushville is discharging the best quality of water to our receiving stream, Flatrock River, than in years past,” says Rushville Utilities Director Les Day.
Aqua-Aerobic Systems Inc. has provided advanced solutions in aeration and mixing, biological processes, cloth media filtration, membranes, disinfection and process control since 1969. As an applied engineering company serving both municipal and industrial customers, the company works collaboratively with consulting engineers, owners, plant managers and operators to design and manufacture the best treatment solution with the lowest life cycle cost.
800-940-5008 | www.aquastormfiltration.com
