Lystek International and the Fairfield-Suisun Sewed District (FSSD) have been jointly recognized for the Excellence in Innovation and Resiliency award by the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA).
The award of excellence was given to Lystek and FSSD at the CASA Annual Conference on August 1, 2024, in Monterey, California.
CASA’s statewide award program recognizes achievements in the clean water community that promotes the utilization of renewable resources and promotes environmental sustainability as well as protection of public health.
The category of Innovation and Resiliency recognizes efforts in the innovative application of technology, or the development of new technology, to the wastewater field including collection, treatment, wastewater and biosolids recycling, and renewable energy production.
FSSD wastewater treatment operations produce an effluent discharge to the San Fransisco Bay which contributes unwanted nutrients and can cause environmental stress to the eco-systems of the Bay.
While pursuing treatment plant upgrades FSSD partnered with Lystek to divert anaerobic digestate away from their dewatering process and feed it directly to the Lystek system, thereby reducing nitrogen-rich filtrate from returning to the plant’s influent.
The project resulted in reductions in the concentrations and amount of nitrogen in FSSD’s effluent and subsequent discharge to the adjacent Suisun Marsh, which connects to the San Fransisco Bay.
The project, titled Digestate Direct Dilution (D3), utilizes sustainable practices by incorporating existing assets and digestate transfer redundancy for resiliency.
The project capital cost required to achieve this reduction in nutrients in the FSSD effluent is many times less than the expected capital expenditures for implementation of advanced nutrient removal technologies and new infrastructure.
