Historical Evolution of Wastewater Treatment in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Wastewater Operators’ Association Conference by Kenneth Sedmak October 12, 2016 What is this? Ancient Public Outhouse-Greece 30 AD Night Soil/Chamber Pot Collection Advanced Night Soil Collection Water Closet Flushing Valve Sewer Construction River Treatment - Disease Wisconsin Early Population Centers

Green Bay

Madison Milwaukee Madison Prior to Treatment

• 1866 – Water closets start to replace outhouses and chamber pots • 1874-1884 Private sewer lines discharge to the lakes • 1885 – Sewer district system developed. Still discharge to lakes “International Process”

• John MacDougall proposes International Process – Used ferozone and polarite – Claimed to be more efficient than standard chemical plant – Guaranteed performance – Good at first but failed after several months – City abandoned in 1891 Second Treatment Plant

• Built in 1901 east of Yahara River • “Bacterial reduction process” • First trickling filter plant in the U.S. A. • Worked well • Effluent to Yahara River Burke Plant

• Began design in 1912 • Imhoff or Septic tanks on line in 1914 • Trickling filter on line in 1916 • Design capacity of 5 MGD • Designed for expected 1930 loadings • Capacity reached in 1920’s

Imhoff or Septic Tank Imhoff Tanks – Burke Plant Trickling Filters at Burke Plant Trickling Filter with Rotary Distributor Antigo, WI Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant • Put in service in 1928 • Designed for 5 MGD • West pumping station pumped to Nine Springs • East pumping station pumped to Burke Plant • Odors due to septicity • Added 1.5 MGD of lake water to double velocity in pipeline

WINTER Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant

• First Addition – 1936 - Added activated sludge process. Increased capacity to 11.25 MGD – Allowed the Burke Plant to be closed – No treated effluent to Lake Monona • Second Addition – 1939. Increased capacity to 15 MGD

ACTIONS TO ADDRESS MILWAUKEE’S WATER POLLUTION PROBLEM

1868 - Milwaukee City Council authorizes preliminary engineering plans for water and sewerage systems. 1871 – Intercepting sewers built to collect wastewater and convey it to Jones Island for discharge into lake. 1888 - Milwaukee River Flushing Tunnel built. 1905 – Kinnickinnic River Flushing Tunnel built. ACTIONS TO ADDRESS MILWAUKEE’S WATER POLLUTION PROBLEM 1913 - Sewerage Commission of the City of Milwaukee is established. 1915 - 1925 - Jones Island Wastewater Treatment Plant is built; interceptor system started. 1921- Metropolitan Sewerage Commission of the County of Milwaukee created. 1925-1933 Interceptor system expanded.

Jones Island WWTP First large scale activated sludge plant in U.S. Cost - $15 million Capacity - 85 MGD 1974 - Designated National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by ASCE 1979 - Placed on National Register of Historic Places

Jones Island Wastewater Treatment Plant 1926

1997 1936

Jones Island Ferric Chloride Storage

Auer Ave Siphon Milorganite loading Public Works Administration (PWA)

• New Deal Act passed in 1933 • Public Works Administration-Grant Money • $6 Billion • 65% of Wastewater Plants in USA • 1933-1944 • Preliminary/Primary Treatment

WPA Program

• Part of New Deal of 1933 • Works Progress Administration (WPA) • Small projects • Hired and paid people on relief • Projects for youth and women • Some WPA staff worked on PWA projects

Some PWA Plants

• Green Bay-1935 • La Crosse – 1938 • Manitowoc-1940 • Racine -1938 • Kenosha-1940 • Sheboygan-1937 • Eau Claire-1940 • Others

GBMSD 1935-1955 GBMSD 1955 Research Combined Municipal and Paper Mill Waste Treatment-1967 GBMSD 1975 La Crosse 1936 La Crosse Engine-generators La Crosse Plant Open House Article July 3, 1938

“The Public Works Members are insistent on the public understanding that in visits to the plant there will be nothing offensive to be faced”

“The gas produced in this digestion is used to operate all equipment, furnish lights, and even heat for the buildings”

Plant managed by Carl Walstrom and four operators working 8-hour shifts. Anaerobic Digester – Pancake Shape Anaerobic Digestion of Sludge Wastewater

Mechanical Thickening Recycle Excess Gravity Thickening Gas Handling Storage

Dewatering Digester Power Cake Disposal w/Mixing Desulfuri- Heat zation

Siloxane Liquid Disposal Removal Sheboygan 90-100% Power Generation From Digester Gas Micro-turbine Power Generation Methane Powered Engine-Generators Gas Utilization as CNG Percentage of Municipalities Meeting Clean Water Act Goals-WDNR

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6

0.5 95% 0.4 0.3 0.2 46% 0.1 18% 0 Year 1974 1979 1983 Treatment Plants by July 1984-WDNR • Activated Sludge 279 • Aerated Lagoons 118 • Stabilization Ponds 127 • Rotating Biological Contactors 56 • Trickling Filter 44 • Oxidation Ditch 35 • Packed Tower 2 • Septic and Primary Treatment 22 • Total 683

Bio-tower (Packed Tower) Media Bio-towers Manitowoc Fixed Film-1976 Rotating Biological Contactor-mid 70’s Eau Claire’s RBC WWTP

Final Clarifiers RBCs RWW Pumps/Screening/ Grit Removal Primary Clarifiers

Secondary Digesters

Primary Chlorine Digesters Administration/ Contact Laboratory Bldg Basins Sludge Storage

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Ammonia Treatment-Nitrification

• Two Stage Activated Sludge Nitrification-Mid 70’s • Combination of Activated Sludge and Fixed Film • Communities – Waupun – Beaver Dam – West Bend – Howards Grove – Grafton – Others Lake Geneva-1985

• First cold weather single stage nitrification- denitrification facility in the nation. • Discharge to seepage cells • Total nitrogen standard less than 10 mg/l. • Lake Geneva discharges effluent at – Total nitrogen-2 mg/l – BOD and TSS less than 10 mg/l Lake Geneva Orbal Oxidation Ditch Activated Sludge Modifications – ’90s to present • Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) • Selectors • Anoxic and anaerobic zones • Biological phosphorus removal – Bardenpho – AO, A2O, UCT and modifications, etc. • Control of nitrification-denitrification • High rate with fixed media-MBBR or IFAS

Sequencing Batch Reactor Somerset, WI Eau Claire BNR Selector Zones

Page 58| October 8, 2015 WWOA 49th Annual Conference Wisconsin Rapids-MBBR Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor or Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge Lagoon Systems

• Stabilization Ponds • Two and three stage aerated lagoon with settling • Covered lagoon – Control Algae • Chemical treatment for phosphorus removal • Filter effluent Brownsville, WI Covered Lagoon Industrial Waste Treatment

• Paper Mills • Food Processing • Metal Finishing-physical/chemical

La Crosse’s City Brewery – First Pretreatment using -Biothane Bush Brothers-Bean WWTP Augusta, WI Anaerobic Reactor with Nitrification- Denitrification Activated Sludge Stevens Point

• City-Industry Cooperative Project • Stevens Point Brewery Waste • Concentrated Brewery Waste to City’s Anaerobic Digester via Force main • Both Benefit WWTP Aerobic Treatment

Thin Energy Required

Waste Segregation Brewery WWTP Anaerobic Treatment Waste

New Force Main to EQ Tank

Thick To Digester and Hauled in Waste Engine Generator

Energy Produced Instrumentation Graphic Displays for Monitoring PLCs with Computer Control Laboratory Analysis

From Milligrams to Micrograms/Liter

NO QA/QC YES Goal Met-Protecting Wisconsin Waters Acknowledgements

• Madison MSD • Milwaukee MSD • NEW Water Green Bay • La Crosse • Lake Geneva • Whitewater • Manitowoc • Operators, Engineers and WDNR Staff