Wastewater Treatment Processes

All waste water treatment, whether domestic or industrial must result in a clean effluent that meets environmental standards. The level of treatment will vary, depending upon the current regulations and the wastewater treatment plant’s discharge location.

Processes included in the design of a sewage plant are unique to each facility. Many factors must be taken into consideration volume of waste water to be treated, characteristics of the incoming wastewater, required level of purification of the water will all be considered during the design phase of the project. Other important items that determine a sewage treatment works’ process include proximity to residences and businesses. A wastewater treatment plant next door to a subdivision may need to install odor and noise control equipment.

Depending on the regulations for the receiving stream, filtration and nutrient removal may be required. And industrial water treatment plants may need coagulation or other facilities to remove metals.

Planning and Preliminary Engineering

Because sewage treatment works are so complex, planning and preliminary engineering can be crucial to the success of these projects. Whether designing a new facility or upgrading or modifying an existing wastewater plant, many facets come into play environmental, regulatory, political, technical, and budgetary concerns must be part of the process.

Planning level design will provide a wide overview of the proposed project, and help work through some of the major desires and bring up possible impediments to the project. As part of preliminary engineering, permitting agencies can be contacted to discuss potential regulatory issues. The engineer can hold public workshops if desired, to determine any changes that may make the wastewater treatment plant more acceptable to citizens living nearby. And the design can be adjusted to alleviate any environmental concerns.

It may also be helpful to have a construct-ability review by a contractor during preliminary design as well. Contractors often have good ideas that can save money during construction of the project. Sewage treatment plant is expensive, so ideas for reducing costs should be considered at this time as well as during final design. Both operational and capital costs should be considered, and life cycle costing is certainly recommended when specifying wastewater equipment.

Final Design and Permitting

Final design plans for wastewater treatment plants must bring together all of the ideas and determinations from the preliminary work to create a set of detailed construction drawings and specifications. During this phase, adjustments may be made as the more detailed analysis sometimes shows that an item from preliminary design is not workable.

Regulatory agencies sometimes accept preliminary plans for permitting, but many require a review of the final wastewater plant design before issuing a permit. Plan revisions may be required, but if the permitting agency was involved during preliminary design the need for revision is reduced.

Once design is complete and permits received, the project is typically advertised to accept construction bids. The engineer can prepare the bid advertisement, respond to contractor questions, conduct a pre-bid meeting, issue any addendum, review bids and recommend bid acceptance.

The final design, permitting and bidding of a wastewater treatment facility involves participation of multiple engineering disciplines survey, geotechnical, electrical/electronic, mechanical, structural, environmental and civil. An engineering firm that has specific experience in the water purification and design of the water treatment plants is critical to completing a successful project.

Construction Administration and Inspection

The construction phase of a wastewater treatment facility is where all the previous hard work of design becomes reality. Construction engineering will include review and approval of contractor submitting, coordinating with contractors and responding to questions and problems, reviewing and approving change orders and invoices. In addition, most wastewater treatment plant projects will need an on-site inspector to ensure the contractor follows the plans and specifications accurately.

Operation, Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Once the infrastructure is built, proper operation, maintenance and troubleshooting ensure the new wastewater facilities will meet the required effluent limits to protect the environment.

Chokhavatia Associates have experience in all facets of Effluent treatment contracts engineering, including:

1. Feasibility studies and master planning
2. Preliminary and final design plans and specifications
3. Project management
4. Construction administration and inspection

The range of CA’s waste water treatment facility projects is comprehensive, and includes municipal domestic and industrial sewage treatment works. CA’s past projects include primary, secondary and tertiary treatment processes encompassing activated sludge/aeration facilities, clarification/sedimentation basins, solids treatment and de-watering, disinfection and disposal infrastructure as well as laboratory and administrative buildings.

For example, CA has provided comprehensive engineering for the sewage treatment plant for the municipal Corp of Vadodara in Gujarat, India and the Mahudi Temple is situated at Mahudi in Gujarat, India as well and numerous others.

CA’s client list includes those from both the government sector as well as the commercial/industrial sector. CA’s wide range of wastewater treatment facility experience and high level of technical competence is complemented by their understanding of the complex nature of sewage water treatment, both municipal and industrial. Each project is unique and holds special challenges and opportunities.

CA has the in-house talent to meet these challenges and take advantage of opportunities. CA has the ability to manage these complex Effluent treatment contracts from planning level through construction. In addition, CA has plant operators, technicians and scientist that can successfully operate the facilities. Throughout the entire process, CA uses their lengthy experience to provide the most cost-effective wastewater treatment project for their clients.