Storm Water Solutions and Water & Wastes Digest recently visited the Greenway Wastewater Treatment Plant, located in London, Ontario, Canada.
One of the interesting features of the Greenway plant is its method of sludge management. Sludge generated at five London plants is trucked to Greenway, where it is mixed with the Greenway sludge in holding tanks and then incinerated. The ash formerly was kept in lagoons and then transported off site, which was costly and labor-intensive.
The facility now uses Geotube technology to manage its ash waste stream. The Geotube container fills with dredged waste and excess water drains out, often of high-enough quality that it can be reused or returned for processing or to native waterways without additional treatment.
The filtrate then is transferred to a lift station and pumped back into the treatment process at the plant for further treatment prior to discharge. The city has arranged for the dewatered material to be used as an aggregate for concrete, keeping it out of landfills.
Greenway’s system is a novel way of reducing costs and labor, which is no small accomplishment in light of ever-shrinking budgets. Has your facility or utility found an innovative way to save money? Email us at [email protected] and let us know, and check out photos of the Greenway plant and Geotubes below.
