Case Studies

U.S. Water Services Corporation (U.S. Water) completed work in June of 2021 for the Florida Governmental Utility Authority (FGUA) at their Village Water Wastewater Treatment Facility located in Lakeland, Florida. The Village Water wastewater treatment facility is primarily an industrial area that receives very little domestic waste. It services approximately 50 separate buildings, about 60% of these buildings are partitioned off for other smaller businesses. In the early 1990's the original facility was upgraded from .01 million gallons per day (MGD) to a .04 MGD facility and was when the original steel tank was placed. In 2018, U.S. Water was called out several times to patch holes in the tank that ruptured after the hydrogen sulfide started deteriorating the walls. Along with that, the digesters were undersized and structurally unsound for the facility. U.S. Water worked with the FGUA and Jones Edmunds on constructing a new 40,000-gallon surge tank, 30,000-gallon digester, independent digest blower-air header, modular office, electrical equipment, and instrumentation. Wastewater treatment is a challenge due to the large swing of Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD) entering the facility. With the higher levels, it was necessary to build a larger than average digester to handle the increased sludge production from the facility. Before building the surge tank and digester, staff redesigned the aeration blowers and diffusers to help address the high levels of CBOD that at times were upwards of 1,200 mg/l. Typical domestic CBOD ranges from around 200 to 250 mg/l, so it became necessary to have enough air to handle the incoming waste and an efficient method of oxygen transfer. U.S. Water dealt with some difficulties and equipment delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 challenges, extending the project longer than expected. However, the project was successful and came in under budget.