$3 Million Wastewater Treatment Facility Rehabilitation Completed

The Byron Sanitary District has completed rehabilitation and upgrade of the wastewater treatment facility serving the community of Byron.

The wastewater treatment facility was subject to a Regional Water Quality Board Time Schedule Order, requiring the district to upgrade the facility. The project was financed by the State Water Resources Control Board's small community wastewater grant program and supplemented with municipal bonds.

Facility upgrades include a new solids handling station. "Operational for a couple of months, community residents experienced no interruption to service during construction and start-up," said Rick Gilmore, general manager of the Byron Sanitary District. "The solids handling station has operated continually since April 2009, greatly increasing the effectiveness of the water treatment facility."

A new, state-of-the-art SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) computer system allows the facility to be monitored and controlled remotely. "It’s the most economical way to maintain wastewater treatment operations," Gilmore said. "Water pumps, solids removal equipment, and power are monitored electronically. An alarm notification is automatically generated in the event of a system outage and standby power is immediately started in the event of a power outage."

Nolte Associates, Inc. began engineering design of the upgraded facility in 2006 and has been involved with the preliminary engineering and funding assistance since 2004. "While the plant is currently treating 60,000 gallons of wastewater per day," said David Dauwalder, project engineer with Nolte, "it can handle up to 96,000 gallons per day. This will give the community the additional flexibility they need."

Upgraded earthen levees and control gates improve control and treatment of wastewater. The new treatment facility features wastewater treatment by natural processes, with no offsite discharge. A land application area is provided for increased operational flexibility and capacity.