No wastewater treatment plant lasts forever. When the Oostburg (Wisconsin) Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed in 1981, it was built to a 20-year design life. By the mid-2010s, the plant was well past its “freshness date” and was operating above 80% of capacity. With residential and commercial use trending up, the Village of Oostburg requested in 2017 approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a multiphase improvement plan. The first phase included a range of upgrades, including new dewatering equipment.

One piece of aging equipment was a particular source of headaches: a 60-inch belt filter press in service since 1981. The unit had a multitude of bearings that required continual maintenance. With no stainless steel components, severe corrosion was a constant issue despite spending two to three hours of cleaning after each run cycle. In addition, the unit was extremely noisy, requiring the use of hearing protection. Most critically, the BFP needed constant attention when running, requiring an operator to be on hand during the entire run cycle. 

The decision was made to replace the BFP with the latest generation HUBER Technology screw press, the Q-PRESS 620.2. The new unit was installed in May of 2019 in a project designed by Strand Associates, Inc., of Madison, Wisconsin. A successful pilot of the Q-PRESS in 2015 and a positive experience with a HUBER ROTAMAT Rok4 vertical screen installed in 2010 — the first such unit installed in Wisconsin — were key factors in going with the new screw press.

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