Hydro Intl. Signs Largest-Ever Grit-Removal Deal

Hydro Intl., a provider of environmentally sustainable storm water, wastewater and combined sewer overflow treatment products and solutions, has announced the receipt of its largest-ever contract for grit-removal systems--a $1.8 million deal with the city of Clearwater, Fla.

Hydro will supply the Gulf Coast city with five Grit King advanced hydrodynamic separator units to upgrade the grit-removal process at two of Clearwater's three wastewater treatment plants. The 12-ft-diameter units will replace the plants' existing high-energy vortex grit-removal systems.

The purchase came as part of a larger initiative to upgrade the headworks at Clearwater's Marshall Street and Advaned Pollution Control facilities.

"The city was looking for improved performance and increased reliability, and after condulting pilot testing with the Grit King units and development of a system design that could be retrofitted into the city's existing headworks, we determined that this solution more than meets the plants' needs," said Thomas Friedrich, P.E., of Jones Edmunds & Associates, the engineering firm representing the city.

During the design phase of the plant improvement project, Hydro drove a Grit King mobile pilot unit to Clearwater and participated in a head-to-head trial with one of the existing high-energy vortex systems at the Marshall Street plant. The data showed the Grit King removing up to 23 times the grit as the existing system.

"Grit that is not captured in the process degrades the machinery in a wastewater treatment plant at an alarming rate," said Neil Raymond, general manager of Hydro's wastewater operations. "Clearwater's investment in new equipment and new processes shows a level of foresight that will serve constituents well."

Source: Hydro Intl.