A Challenging Environment Calls for Skillful Pros In Central Florida, a 12 MGD reclamation facility was experiencing a loss of capacity in their north aeration and anoxic basins.  These tanks presented a challenge because they were lined with rows of diffusers that circulate oxygen feeding the microorganisms and bacteria residents that break down the waste.  This job required experienced professionals to access and remove the built-up material, so the customer called on U.S. Submergent Technologies (USST) for a solution.  USST has cleaned tanks, pipes, and lift stations on over 400 projects around the United States.  Our qualified crews know how

Keep reading

Florida Sand and Grit Grant Program Reimburses Restoration Costs A rural community located in Southeast Florida’s Treasure Coast was experiencing capacity issues with their wastewater treatment plant’s multi-tank.  Specifically, inside their chlorine contact chamber, which disinfects and treats the wastewater.  A considerable amount of debris was clogging up this structure and decreasing efficiency at the plant. This municipal wastewater treatment plant collects and treats more than 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day and met the qualifications for reimbursement through Florida’s Sand and Grit Grant Program, which makes it possible for publicly owned facilities averaging 3MGD or less to address the

Keep reading

A Massive Job Calls for USST’s Expert Knowledge A large primary clarifier serving as an equalization tank at a city’s wastewater treatment facility had accumulated 16-foot-high mounds of sand along the bottom, seriously reducing its capacity and potentially passing grit through the treatment process.  U.S. Submergent Technologies’ (USST) expertly trained crew set about to handle cleaning this massive 125-foot in diameter structure.  “Our knowledgeable crews have a proven keen ability to navigate obstacles on the ground and this job presented some unique challenges,” said Paul Del Favero, Operations Manager at USST.  “This tank was huge, it’s covered, and the walls

Keep reading

On any given day at U.S. Submergent Technologies (USST), crews mobilizing Class 8 (any vehicle over 33,000 lbs.) commercial vehicles equipped with specialized cleaning equipment, depart from our operations hub in Orlando Florida.  Their destinations are wastewater treatment facilities and critical wet infrastructure all over Florida and parts of the Southeast.  Their purpose is clear; to safely restore the capacity of wet infrastructure nobody notices but everybody relies upon.  When this professional group of experienced and knowledgeable CDL drivers gets on the road, one word, and one thing is at the top of everyone’s list, safety.   “At USST, we

Keep reading

USST Crew Responds to Changed Conditions Adeptly In rural Northeast Florida, a municipal wastewater treatment plant operating at .4 MGD was reaching critical capacity loss with their surge tank.  This large multi-chamber tank, which is essential to the overall health and functionality of daily operations at the plant, required cleaning.  U.S. Submergent Technologies (USST) was called in to assess the structure and remove the buildup of sand and grit throughout this wastewater tank. “This project was estimated to have 36 tons of material in the tank, but once we got on-site, we were dealing with at least seven feet of

Keep reading

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

Keep reading

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

Keep reading

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

Keep reading

REDUCE THE RISK OF SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW IN WET WELLS Wet well and lift station maintenance are a frequent source of concern for most wastewater collection systems. Performing regular maintenance can be difficult due to access challenges, costs associated with shutting down pumps, and confined space entry permitting and safety issues.   Wastewater systems rely on lift or pump stations to transport collected wastewater to a treatment plant.  Lift or pump stations typically include two to three pumps for redundancy — all of which require periodic inspection and maintenance.  More often than not, a wastewater facility may only have one operable

Keep reading