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Water & Wastewater

NC DOT Approved for:

  • Public Water Distribution Systems
  • Public Water Transmission Systems
  • Sanitary Sewer Collection Systems
  • Sanitary Sewer Outfall Systems
  • Utility Coordination
  • Erosion & Sediment Control Design

Featured Project: Jonesville Water Treatment Plant

Municipal Engineering designed an expansion for the Town of Jonesville’s water treatment plant (WTP) with capacity to be doubled from 0.5 MGD to 1 MGD by the use of Microsand Enhanced Flocculation (MEF).

The plant was 55 years old and most of the exterior concrete had deteriorated from undergoing an alkaline-silica reaction (ASR) including the high service line, flash mixer, flocculation and sedimentation basins. The completed project included a new high service line, interconnection pump station with bi-directional pumping, new SCADA and telemetry systems, hydraulic modeling and a GIS map of the Town’s water system.

To the extent possible, existing processes were upgraded and utilized in the design, including filters that were rerated to twice their original capacity.

The final design utilized Microsand Enhanced Flocculation (MEF) and flow-paced automatic dosing, the first stand-alone treatment system of this type in North Carolina.

The new WTP was online and certified in 2012.

“Municipal Engineering always delivers!”

“…One thing about Municipal Engineering is they always listen to the client and plant operators.  They are more caring than some.  I want someone that takes as much pride and care in their work as I do in my work for the town.  Municipal Engineering always delivers!…”

Sam Call

Utilities Director, Town of Wilkesboro

Business on a Handshake

RICHMOND COUNTY WATER TANK RAISING

Construction is complete on the raising of a 500,000 gallon water storage tank in Richmond County.  This tank was raised 39 feet in order to reach the same elevation as two other tanks in the system and obtain additional head in this tank’s service area.

“We needed to elevate one of our tanks for pressure – they did it on time and under budget. The Woodies and Steve Gandy have been instrumental in all this. You can always get an immediate response. They have a quality staff that covers it from A to Z.”    ~ Bryan Land, Richmond County Manager

RICHMOND COUNTY WATER TREATMENT PLANT IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPANSION

Richmond County’s WTP experienced a bottleneck in its solids treatment for 13 years. Municipal Engineering examined the system and through consultation with the owners and operators, designed and implemented an additional 60’ sludge clarifier, new sludge pumping facility with remote VFD controls and a 2 meter belt press. The new sludge treatment processes are capable of handling 260 gpm of thickened sludge as compared to the older system which could handle 80 gpm at best. Challenges for this project included integration of a new process into the existing system that had to be operated continuously to facilitate the production of potable water, excavation and connection to a WTP system that had previously been upgraded twice, and choosing a process that was both familiar to operators and reliable.

In addition, Municipal Engineering expanded the County’s water treatment plant from 6.7 MGD to 9.0 MGD. Plans included the addition of two settling basins, a new wet well, high service pumps, and a building to house the new pumps. The chemical feed system was upgraded to include flow based dosing with new chemical feed pumps and an updated SCADA system for control of the new dosage system. A 24” high service line was added to send the higher permitted volume to the distribution system.

“…They have a history with our system…if we run into an issue, we call them up, and their giving us their feedback is really a big factor… Most of our issues may be new to us, and they have the knowledge to help…”
 ~ Lee Butler, Water Treatment Plant Superintendent

TOWN OF COFIELD WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS

The Town of Cofield was experiencing problems with inadequate capacity, storage, and poor water quality from their two current wells. The Town had completely lost use of one of the wells. Municipal Engineering designed a new elevated 75,000 gallon water storage tank and two new wells with updated pumping, control, and disinfection systems. In addition, a backup generator was included to increase the performance and reliability of the water distribution system.

SCOTLAND COUNTY 750,000 GALLON ELEVATED WATER TANK

Scotland County had an industry interested in constructing a new facility adjacent to the County’s Small Business Innovation Center and Economic Development Office that would invest over $110 million within the County. The company needed 1.8 million gallons of raw water per day for manufacturing of a specialized paper product. In addition, the new facility required water storage for fire protection.

Municipal Engineering coordinated well sites and distribution lines for the raw water, as well as, 2,300 linear of feet of 16” waterline connecting to the City of Laurinburg’s system for potable water. Municipal Engineering also designed a 750,000 gallon elevated water tank (175 feet tall) including site design, grading, and erosion control plans.

The project was completed in the fall of 2014, and the company continues to add new jobs.

Town of Fremont, NC – Wastewater Lagoon Repair

Two-stage facultative lagoons and spray irrigation system to serve the Towns of Fremont and Eureka:

Problems:

  • Wastewater from the lagoon was leaking through the lagoon dike due to wind erosion, and test results from the monitoring wells indicated high levels of BOD and Ammonia. These contaminants were also found in the creek downstream of the facility.
  • The town received multiple notices of violations from NCDEQ regarding contamination of both ground and surface water.
  • The town had no financial resources to repair the lagoon without creating a devastating financial effect upon the citizens.

Solutions:

  • Negotiate a Special Order of Consent (SOC) with the Environmental Management Commission to provide time to resolve the problem without monetary forfeitures due to NCDEQ for violations.
  • Applied for and received a High Unit Cost Grant in the amount of $1,083,000 from the NCDEQ-Division of Water Infrastructure to design and repair the leaking lagoons.
  • Provided the Engineering Report, Environmental Review Document, Design, Permitting, and Bid and Award services to repair the leaking lagoons.
  • Provided Construction Administration and Observation for the construction of the removal of sludge from the bottom of each lagoon and the installation of a new HDPE liner creating a watertight basin and elimination of the leaks.

Results:

  • The project was completed on time and under budget, which allowed the Town to remain compliant with the Clean Water Act without a negative financial impact on the Town. 

Gates County, NC - Spray Irrigation Wastewater Treatment Facility

New 40,000 GPD spray irrigation facility with pump station, force main, sequential batch reactor treatment system, storage lagoon, and 25-acre spray field.

Problems:

  • Gates County purchased a 25,000 GPD land application treatment system constructed in 1988 from the North Carolina Department of Corrections upon closure of the Gates Correctional Facility. NCDEQ downgraded the system to 15,000 GPD shortly after acquisition due to the lack of maintenance of the spray field.
  • The project was funded through CDBG, EDA, NC Rural Center, and Golden Leaf Foundation grants to create jobs at a new development “Merchant’s Commerce Park,” of which the majority of the jobs would be created by a new assisted living center. Phase One of the development was completed by another engineer, but the County did not have sufficient treatment capacity to support the development, and most of the grants were about to expire.
  • Find suitable available land within a reasonable distance of the development to construct a new spray irrigation wastewater treatment facility.
  • Risk of sewer moratorium by NCDEQ resulting in claw-back provisions of the various grants due to being unable to fulfill the required jobs promised.

Solutions:

  • Obtained extensions of the grants from the funding agencies to allow time to find and construct a suitable solution.
  • Provided preliminary soil testing of multiple nearby sites to find land which consisted of adequate soil conditions to support a land application treatment system.
  • Provided detailed soil analysis, hydrogeologic modeling, boundary, and topographic survey, design, and permitting of new 40,000 GPD land application system with SBR treatment and 25-acre spray field.
  • Provided bid and award, construction administration, construction observation, and grant administration of multiple federal and state grants.

Results:

Gates County was able to sustain the development, which created much-needed jobs in the community and avoid the grant clawback provisions. The new system, combined with the existing land application system, is now able to treat 55,000-GPD.

Town of Bunn – Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

Installation of a new 150,000 package treatment facility in 2013 to replace existing package facility constructed in the 1970s. Retrofit of the old package plant to provide a total of 300,000 GPD of treatment capacity.

Problems:

  • Existing 150,000 GPD package treatment facility was in poor repair with no redundancy, at risk of catastrophic failure.
  • Town’s primary pump station was experiencing significant difficulties due to age and the need to maintain by-pass pumping to continue operations.

Solutions:

  • A new 150,000 GPD package treatment facility with new tertiary filters and UV disinfection was designed and permitted by two MESCO Engineers having long relationships with the Town while working at another engineering firm and funded through the NCDEQ SRF program. The project was transferred to MESCO and MESCO successfully completed the bid and award, construction administration, and observation of the new facility.
  • MESCO assisted the Town of Bunn with an application to USDA for the retrofit of the existing package treatment plant and the construction of a new pump station to replace the one which is currently being by-passed. The Town of Bunn, with the assistance of MESCO, was able to obtain a $1,282,000 grant/loan from USDA, of which $846,000 or 66% was a grant.
  • MESCO provided the Preliminary Engineering Report and Environmental document via USDA SEARCH grant, the project was successfully bid and awarded and is now under construction. MESCO provided the design, bid and award phase services, in addition to assisting the Town and their bond counsel with the interim financing. MESCO is currently providing construction administration and observation for this project.

Results:

Upon completion of the project, the Town will have a fully functioning 350,000 GPD waste treatment facility and a new pump station which will reduce their O&M costs,  All this with minimal debt service, which would impact the ratepayers within the Town of Bunn.

Town of Newport Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion

Newport, NC, Carteret County: Expansion of the existing 0.60 MGD extended aeration activated sludge wastewater treatment facility.

Problems:

  • The Town of Newport, due to its proximity to North Carolina’s southern beaches and U.S. Marine Corp Station Cherry Point, has and continues to grow in population and was unable to serve this growing population without additional capacity.
  • Existing equipment was outdated and required much maintenance, which taxed the financial and manpower resources of the Town.
  • The facility discharges into the Newport River, a tributary to the Neuse Estuary, which was and continues to be susceptible to algae blooms from excess nitrogen.

Solutions:

  • MESCO assisted the Town in the acquisition of CWSRF Loan.
  • Provided the Town with the Engineering Report, Environmental Information Document and NPDES Permit.
  • Provided the Town with an innovative design with provisions for future total nitrogen discharge limits while utilizing technology such as aeration basins and clarifiers familiar to plant operators.
  • Provided the Town with bid and award, construction administration/observation services during construction.
  • Assisted the Town with the start-up of the new facilities.

Results:

The Town of Newport has a facility that is easy to maintain and operate, provides the additional capacity needed, and is ready for future nitrogen limits.

City of Albemarle Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

Albemarle, NC, Stanly County: Improvements to the existing 40-MGD extended aeration, activated sludge wastewater treatment facility.

Problems:

  • The City of Albemarle received multiple Notice of Violations (NOVs) of their NPDES permit due to excessive solids being discharged from the aging facility constructed in the 1930s and renovated in the 1960s and 70s. The facility entered into a Special Order of Consent (SOC) to address the issues with the effluent quality.
  • Excessive grit within the existing chlorine contact basin due to ineffective effluent filters and poor aeration due to worn floating aerators.
  • Inefficient pumping of the influent, sludge recycle and effluent flows due to worn screw pumps caused by excessive grit in the system.
  • The circular clarifier mechanism severely was worn causing inefficient collection and recycle of activated sludge.

Solutions:

  • MESCO assisted in securing funding through NCDEQ-Division of Water Infrastructure NC Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
  • MESCO worked with the City in the preparation of the Engineering Report, Environmental Information Document, and modification to the NPDES permit.
  • MESCO designed the modifications and improvements to the facility to remove the grit from the various basins, replace four clarifier mechanisms, replace screw pumps at the influent, and sludge recycle pump stations, replace the non-function filter with new state-of-the art rotary disc filters, and replacement of the inoperable sluice gates and replacement of the floating aerators within the aeration basins to provide better mixing. MESCO also provided the Construction Administration/Observation for the project.

Results:

The City of Albemarle was able to comply with its SOC and meet the effluent limits as defined in the NPDES permit, while the improvements vastly increased the efficiency of the units and provided for safe operation with greater operator flexibility.

“…Municipal Engineering helped us with two WWTP upgrades…As to Municipal, it goes all the way back to Jim Woodie who is very knowledgeable about the industry and then to Ben Clawson who understands what is on paper but also the reality of the situation…They were with us through planning, design, install, inspections, warranty issues – they were with us all the way…” ~ Brandon Plyler, City of Albemarle Public Works

 

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