The Village of Cary operates a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that treats domestic, commercial, and industrial wastewater. The WWTP is in the southeast portion of the village, northwest of where it discharges into the Fox River. The Village hired us as its consultant partner for the Phase 1 WWTP Improvements project.
The primary goal of this project was to meet current and foreseeable regulatory requirements, both state and federal. Specifically, this project was intended to meet the new phosphorus requirements contained in the Village’s renewed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. The Village had the foresight to include the following goals with the Phase I Improvements project:
- Replace equipment that had reached the end of its useful life
- Improve employee safety
- Reduce energy use
- Increase automation
- Improve the operability of the WWTP
- Improve effluent quality
- Improve the environmental sustainability of the WWTP operations
To meet the goals identified above, our design included conversion of a portion of the activated sludge system to biological phosphorus removal within the existing aeration tanks, new backup chemical phosphorus removal facilities, replacement of existing chlorination facilities with a new ultraviolet disinfection system, addition of a new digester mixing system for the primary anaerobic digester, incorporation of various energy efficiency improvements – including dissolved-oxygen based blower controls – and integration of supervisory and data acquisition system improvements.
Awards Won:
- 2020 APWA Chicago Metro Chapter Project of the Year Award
- 2020 APWA Chicago Metro Chapter-Fox Valley Branch Project of the Year Award