Operational Excellence Award Presented to Glens Falls, NY

Glens Falls WWTP maintenance manager, Jason Vilander (left), receives the Operational Excellence Award from EnviroMix’s Freddy Kade, director of regional sales.

To remain compliant with New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the City of Glens Falls undertook an infrastructure upgrade of the 9.5 MGD Glens Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in 2015. The plant historically struggled with high nitrate levels due to an industrial contributor, so the upgrade included the incorporation of biological nutrient removal (BNR). Two aeration basins were modified to incorporate anoxic selectors designed to facilitate denitrification, enabling the facility to meet a stringent future effluent total nitrogen limit.

The city and their design consultant Arcadis chose EnviroMix’s BioMix Compressed Gas Mixing System to mix the anoxic selectors due to the technology’s ability to provide energy efficient mixing with no in-basin maintenance. Optimization of the denitrification process requires an anoxic environment with minimal dissolved oxygen, along with the proper level of mixing to promote increased contact between denitrifying bacteria, organic carbon, and nitrate. BioMix is a key part of this process due to its ability to mix effectively with negligible oxygen transfer.

Offering the ability to modify mixing parameters based on process demands, the BioMix system delivers the flexibility needed to produce ideal mixing conditions that enhance the denitrification process. Optimized operation prevents unnecessary energy usage or shearing of the biological floc, which could result in poor settling in the secondary clarifiers. In addition, BioMix provides 50-60% more energy savings versus mechanical mixing.

“It just works.” — Jason Vilander, Glens Falls WWTP Maintenance Manager

After years of efficient and low maintenance operations at Center Street, MPW selected BioMix again in Since 2015, the team at Glens Falls has operated their BioMix system with excellence, finding that the technology keeps solids suspended with minimal maintenance. Maintenance manager Jason Vilander stated about the straightforward system, “It just works.”

EnviroMix is pleased to present the Operational Excellence Award to the outstanding team at Glens Falls and to provide the city with an energy efficient, low maintenance mixing system that supports denitrification.