Challenging Confined Space Entry in Anastasia Island Anastasia Island’s Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) was experiencing reduced pumping capacity due to accumulated solids in their influent lift station, a facility with a permitted capacity of 4.95MGD.  Due to the challenging nature of the 35-foot deep structure, Anastasia Island’s wet well hadn’t been cleaned in several years, resulting in the accumulation of a significant amount of material. “The pump station consists of four Gorman-Rupp self-priming solids handling centrifugal pumps,” explained James Overton, P.E., at the St. Johns County Utility Department (SJCUD).  “Due to grit and rags that accumulated, one pump was completely

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CONFINED SPACE ENTRY IN THE WASTEWATER INDUSTRY Confined spaces can be deadly.  Each year, many people are seriously injured or killed while working or attempting to rescue those in confined spaces across a wide range of industries. The term “permit-required confined space” is defined by OSHA as possessing one or more of the following characteristics: Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere Has walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into a smaller area that could trap or asphyxiate an entrant Contains other recognized safety or health hazards, such as unguarded machinery, exposed

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If you were one of the 3,850 attendees at the Florida Water Resources Conference last week, you may have had the privilege of checking out the some of the FWRC Ops Challenge events.  Known as the “Olympics of the Wastewater Industry,” the Ops Challenge follows teams of four as they compete in a series of events, including Process Control, Laboratory, Maintenance, Collections, and Safety in order to secure a spot at the national competition at WEFTEC. This year, seven teams competed in the overall Ops Challenge, with clever team names such as Destin’s Positive Influents, JEA’s Fecal Matters, St. Petersburg’s

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Last week, USST exhibited for the 5th year running at this year’s 2018 Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC) in Daytona Beach, Florida.  It was all hands on deck as we had the opportunity to meet and greet with customers, discuss their facility’s needs, and had fun spinning our prize wheel giveaway and snack station.  You could even charge your phone or tablet if you were running low by the end of the day. There were 3,850 attendees this year and we enjoyed speaking with everyone who stopped by the booth.  In the middle of the Exhibit Hall, the Regional Ops

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Say Hello to Chris Jones, one of our hardworking Service Technicians here at USST.  Following in the steps of his family, Chris has a background in trades work building powerlines before joining the U.S. Submergent team, while his grandfather worked as an aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Airforce.  Having just hit his one-year mark with USST, Chris is a valued member of our team with a surprising love of soup lunches and gardening.  Read on to learn more about our up-and-coming team member. Hometown:  Norfolk, Virginia. What I Do as a Service Tech II:  Run equipment, think ahead and solve

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23-Foot Deep Lift Station Cleaned While in Operation Tallahassee’s Summerbrooke lift station was due for scheduled maintenance, needing both FOGs on the surface and sand and grit on the bottom removed.  While this could have proved to be a challenging situation, the USST crew and equipment was able to restore capacity quickly and efficiently. USST’s Field Supervisor, Paul Del Favero, arrived with a team prepared to remove debris from wet or dry conditions.  Our patented Combination3® equipment allows our crew to remove debris from water surface and structure bottom without additional equipment or repositioning. “Our truck is uniquely equipped to

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180-CY Removed in Davie, Florida   Capacity was recently restored to the Town of Davie’s WWTP as part of their Capital Improvement Program, a facility which handles an average daily flow of around 3MGD.  More than 180-CY of sand and material was removed from Davie’s 20-foot high surge tank while it remained in full operation.  Using USST’s extended boom and Combination3® technology, the material removed was immediately ready for disposal. John McGeary has resided as Chief Operator of the Town of Davie’s WWTP for almost five years, and has 38 years’ experience in the wastewater industry.  He says “[I was]

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Identifying and Managing Annual I&I Issues Where does the sand in wastewater treatment plants come from?  The answer is the collection system.  Determining whether or not there is an I&I (inflow and infiltration) issue can be the real challenge.  Spring is just around the corner, and with it, the time of year when most of the country’s rainfall usually occurs.  Throughout the wet season, an increase in flow into a WWTP can be due to inflow and not an increase in domestic wastewater collected.  Increase in flow is also a potentially a reliable indicator that treatment capacity has been compromised and may

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It’s that time of year again.  The time of year when we are tasked with setting plans in motion for the new year ahead.  For many, the new year means setting new goals.  Our business sets goals each year, and are only achieved when we have a written, realistic plan. Our plans provide the tasks and activities required of the team and organization to achieve our goals.  The more thought given on unresolved issues while developing your plan, the fewer delays experienced during execution and implementation. Given that some of our implementation or action plans are being finalized for 2018,

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