Stricter Regulation Drives Creative Technology Solutions in Water Industry
“The water industry has had to evolve to keep pace with regulatory demands,” contends Bill Peretti (Principal) at The Coombs-Hopkins Company, a leading water and wastewater Manufacturer’s Representative firm. “The drive for higher levels of nutrient removal, including phosphorus and nitrogen, has been a challenge for current technology. In Colorado, for example, we provide the head waters for many strictly-regulated water sources. While the current regulations may not be as stringent as they are for the Great Lakes or the Chesapeake Bay, we are likely headed in that direction. Often times, municipalities are directed to comply with these regulations without being given additional funding, which means they need to get creative.”
BioMix Compressed Gas Mixing startup – SACWSD in Henderson, CO.
Mr. Peretti has worked in the water industry for almost 20 years; first with a membrane manufacturer in New York, and then with Coombs-Hopkins after moving to Colorado in 2003. He works with various municipalities and engineering consultants throughout his territory, which includes the front range of the Denver area and eastern Wyoming. “The water business has changed in a lot of ways during my time in the industry. It has become more automated with technological advancements being propelled by not only stricter discharge regulations, but also based on the need for efficiency savings and minimizing manpower. We’ve seen some interesting new technologies being born out of these factors.” comments Peretti.
As a Manufacturer’s Representative firm in the water and wastewater industry for over 30 years, The Coombs-Hopkins Company prides itself on its technology leadership: “We are a tech-advanced company and are responsive to new products and technologies as they hit the market.” Peretti has worked with EnviroMix since 2014 and has seen interest in their mixing technology gain momentum. “South Adams County Water and Sanitation District (SACWSD), Colorado, is our longest-running BioMix installation. The City was tired of spending excessive time and dedicating man-power to run and replace their surface-mounted mixers. We like the EnviroMix approach for its simplicity. The savings in energy costs are important, but in this case, it was secondary to the City’s desire to simplify the overall installation. We were able to get rid of multiple mixing zones and the associated mixers by introducing BioMix. One of the plant operators sent me a photo of their ‘graveyard’ of old mixers.”
“Our success at SACWSD created a domino effect,” continues Peretti. “Stonegate Village in Parker, Colorado followed quickly; the consulting engineer saw how well EnviroMix was working in SACWSD and applied the same technology. The engineer was intrigued by the success of EnviroMix and believed it would be a good fit for Stonegate too. Shortly after this installation, we started working with a facility in Loveland, Colorado where we expect to see the energy savings drive compressed gas mixing over many BNR zones.”
“There is a common theme to all these installations; municipalities want to replace multiple mechanical mixers with an economic and reliable alternative – EnviroMix fits the bill. The metrics to support the company’s claims are visible: At SACWSD and Stonegate, for example, everyone is happy with the reliability of the system and the energy cost savings.”
Peretti attests to the growing momentum behind EnviroMix: “EnviroMix provides an opportunity to apply its BioMix technology to multiple mixing challenges. We’re looking at other aspects of these plants and how we can integrate the EnviroMix solution with other mixing opportunities. There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around EnviroMix’s aerobic digestion process BioCycle-D and the potential for de-coupling the air requirements from mixing,” he concludes.
Contact Bill Peretti at [email protected].