An article by Heather Jennings, PE, Director of Probiotic Solutions®, has been published in Tri-State Seminars Magazine, the proceedings of the 36th Annual Tri-State Seminar held August 9–12, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nev. Ms. Jennings was a featured presenter at the seminar, which provides training and certification classes to educate water professionals from Arizona, California, and Nevada.
In her presentation and the resulting published article, titled “Lagoons, Under the Surface,” Ms. Jennings discussed the results of an in-depth investigation of bioremediation and biological factors involved in reducing sludge at a municipal wastewater treatment facility lagoon system.
A one-year bioremediation plan was implemented for a municipal wastewater treatment facility with 2 primary lagoons in which sludge depths had reached 5–7 feet. The lagoons were at risk of upset and wastewater processing capacity was reduced. Sludge levels were reported for baseline and quarterly sludge judging, supplemented with ATP and DNA analyses of the microorganism biomass. The results of the ATP and DNA analyses pointed out the often-misunderstood fact that wastewater treatment facility lagoon sludge is not inert: it is the most biologically active layer of the water column and can be efficiently controlled and reduced through proper bioremediation interventions. Sludge depth was biologically reduced by an average of 45%. This represented 17,800 dry tons of sludge that did not need to be mechanically removed and hauled to a disposal location, a potential savings of over $6 million.
The complete article can be found on pp. 28–31 of the 2-2021 issue of Tri-State Seminars Magazine at https://www.kelmanonline.com/httpdocs/files/Tri-State-Seminar/issue2-2021/index.html.