WesTech Supplies Critical Equipment in Historic Wastewater Plant Project

Aug. 10, 2011
New plant helps accelerate operations, deliver higher-quality effluent
New plant helps accelerate operations, deliver higher-quality effluent

WesTech Engineering was a partner in the recent completion of the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s (ECUA) Central Wastewater Treatment Plant Project near Pensacola, Fla. The new Advanced Treatment System is hurricane-resistant and is the largest public works project in the history of Escambia County.

The new plant became necessary due, in large part, to the deficiencies of the old plant made evident by Hurricane Ivan. When the hurricane struck on Sept. 16, 2004, it knocked out power to the existing Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pensacola for three full days. Some areas of downtown Pensacola were flooded with a combination of storm water, storm surge and raw sewage.

This helped accelerate the Main Street Relocation plan already in place to create a modern, hurricane-resistant wastewater treatment plant outside the city. As the effluent of the new facility would be 100% reuse, the system also had to deliver a very high quality effluent.

WesTech’s scope of supply in the project comprised four Advanced 5-Stage BNR OxyStream Systems, each roughly two football fields in length, and four 125-ft Diameter Secondary COP Clarifiers designed to treat 22.5 million gal per day (mgd).

The new plant is now fully operational and has the ability to handle 22.5 mgd as compared to 20 mgd of the old plant. Up to 6 mgd of treated effluent is being sent to International Paper Co. for reuse. Up to 17 mgd is being used by Gulf Power Co.’s Crist Plant of which 14.5 mgd is turned into steam and used in the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber, which is designed to reduce regulated emissions from the coal-fired power plant by up to 95%.

This arrangement has already led to Gulf Power and the ECUA being named co-winners in the partnership category for the Sustainable Florida-Collins Center 2010 Best Practice Awards Program.

Source: WesTech Engineering Inc.

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