Camden, S.C., Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Project

Dec. 2, 2014

Cost: $30 million
Location: Camden, SC
Year: 2013-11-27
Size: 7.5 mgd
Owner: City of Camden
Designers: URS Corp.
Contractor: State Utility Contractors Inc.

The wastewater treatment plant in Camden, S.C., collects, treats and disposes of wastewater for approximately 4,000 customers. The city’s sewer service area encompasses all properties within the city limits of Camden and two miles east along Highway 1. The system includes more than 84 miles of gravity sewer line, 11.94 miles of sewer force mains and 14 lift stations.

The city currently operates a 3-million-gal-per-day (mgd) wastewater lagoon. Responding to new, more stringent wastewater treatment standards for nutrient removal and disinfection limits, the city is constructing a new plant with a capacity of 7.5 mgd. When the new facility is operational, the lagoon will be converted into a natural wetland area. 

As part of its new $30-million treatment plant, the city initially chose Xylem’s Wedeco TAK55 ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system. When construction was approximately halfway complete, however, the company released its Duron UV system. The city, URS Corp. and State Utility Contractors worked to convert the design to accommodate the new technology. The Camden plant is Wedeco’s first global installation of the Duron system.

With low-pressure, high-intensity 600W Ecoray lamps, Camden’s UV system is custom designed to meet permit requirements by disinfecting 200 fecal coliforms per 100 mL of secondary wastewater. The ballast technology requires fewer lamps, decreasing the system’s footprint. This, combined with intelligent dose control, minimizes the system’s energy consumption. 

The city is constructing the new plant to accommodate a future expansion to 15 mgd. To save on future construction costs, the building and channel for the UV system were built large enough to house additional equipment to handle increased flows. Additional equipment then can be purchased when the plant increases its capacity.

The Wedeco equipment was installed in November 2013 and commissioning is scheduled for December 2013. It is expected that the UV system will be operational by March 2014 when the entire plant comes online

“We are very proud to provide the city of Camden, S.C., with an energy-efficient, cost-effective way to disinfect wastewater so that the effluent from the plant has no disinfection byproducts and is environmentally friendly,” said Jay Jordan, disinfection market manager for Xylem. 

Project Year: 2013-11-27Contractor: State Utility Contractors Inc.Designers: URS Corp.Owner: City of CamdenLocation: Camden, SCCost: $30 millionSize: 7.5 mgd

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