Advanced Aeration Technologies
JWPCP Carson
Location: Carson, CA , USA / Capacity: 180,000 cfm / Project Completed: 2005
The Los Angeles County Sanitation District operates 11 wastewater treatment plants treating approximately 576 MGD for the massive population of the greater metropolitan LA County area. Six of the largest facilities the District operates are connected through a regional network of sewers and treatment facilities known as the Joint Outfall System (JOS), serving the water treatment needs of roughly 4.6 million people. The biosolids generated by the tertiary treatment of 165 MGD of water by upstream water reclamation plants in the JOS are conveyed to the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) in Carson, CA.
Aside from treating the biosolids of the JOS, the JWPCP is additionally responsible for the treatment of 335 MGD of sewage. This makes the JWPCP the lead facility in the treatment and disposal of the solids generated by roughly 500 MGD of waste.
As housing and business development occurred in close proximity to the JWPCP facility, odors from the dewatering building and the storage silos became a constant source of complaints and concern to the District. In 2005, the LACSD tested several iterations of biofilter designs to explore the best solutions to this onerous odor issue. After extensive testing, LACSD's R&D staff declared the BacTee aeration floor system "clearly superior" to all other biofilter aeration systems. This conclusion was based on: uniformity of air distribution, energy savings, and maintenance cost reductions due to the floor's load bearing capacity which allowed the largest of wheel loaders to be used in the placement and removal of the organic substrate - all factors worthy of consideration in the design of a new biofilter with a capacity of 180,000 cfm.