Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)
Wastewater Treatment and Water Reuse for Development
Avimor - Ada County, Idaho
Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)
Wastewater Treatment
and Water Reuse
Pharmer Engineering recently designed a 1.0 MGD wastewater membrane bioreactor (MBR) reclamation facility for a planned community called Avimor, located five miles north of Boise, ID. The planning and design were completed in nine months with construction immediately following DEQ approval.
The project is being implemented through a design-build process with Record Steel Construction. The facility includes raw influent pumping, headworks screens, equalization, phosphorus removal via chemical addition, secondary treatment with membrane bioreactors, chlorine disinfection, sludge holding, and gravity belt thickening. The Class B effluent (DEQ designation) will be reused throughout the planned community for irrigation and riparian restoration. Excess effluent may be infiltration using rapid infiltration basins. Pharmer Engineering prepared reuse and NPDES permits for the project. The project is currently under construction with completion slated for late 2007.
Southfork Landing - Boise County, Idaho
Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)
Wastewater Treatment Facility
and Water Reuse
Pharmer Engineering recently designed a 0.25 MGD wastewater membrane bioreactor (MBR) reclamation facility for planned community, located near Garden Valley, ID.
The facility includes raw influent pumping, headworks screens, equalization, phosphorus removal via chemical addition, secondary treatment with membranebioreactors, ultraviolet disinfection, and sludge holding.
The Class A effluent (DEQ designation) will be used for groundwater recharge and for irrigation around thetreatment system and in the equestrian center. Pharmer Engineering prepared reuse and NPDES permits for the project. Start-up of the facility is expected in early 2008.
The Meadows - Ketchum, Idaho
Expansion of existing small development to approximately 500 units. MBR treated effluent is discharged to the river.
Hidden Springs, Idaho
Waste Water Treatment Facility - 2007 Capacity Expansion
Pharmer Engineering provided planning, predesign, detailed design, and construction management services in the expansion of the Hidden Springs WWTF. The facility was the first of its kind in the State of Idaho where all the wastewater produced by the planned rural community is re-used for irrigation in a Class B reuse system within the community.
The existing system included a two cell lagoon treatment step followed by a settled stored effluent lagoon. Reuse involves the use of a sand media filter and subsequent chlorine disinfection. At the planning/predesign stage, various treatment and filtration expansion alternatives were compared.
The expansion project included a new treatment cell, a new 25.5 million gallon storage cell, a new filtered water day/chlorine contact tank, and other miscellaneous equipment expansion. The filtered water storage tank was added for disinfection control and to expand the filtered water capacity. Since the filtration system runs in-line with the irrigation, the filtration capacity had been limited to the roughly 8 hour per day irrigation period. The tank allows the filter to run 24 hours per day, thereby increasing the capacity by a factor of three.
The design project included Autodesk Civil 3D design to facilitate balanced earthwork volumes. The new ponds were lined with an 80 mil textured condutive HDPE liner. Miscellaneous equipment included a new positive displacement blower complete with a sound enclosure, storage tank recirculation pumping, new floating pump stations in the storage ponds, and integration of all new equipment into the existing computer control system. Construction was completed in September 2007.
Polo Cove Land Company
Master Plan for Sewer and Reuse Services
Polo cove is a large planned development in the center of wine county in Canyon County, Idaho. Pharmer Engineers have been working with Polo Cove Land Company to master plan sewer and reuse services for wastewater generated by the residential, commercial and winery facilities. A level 1 N-P study has been completed for the first phase of the project and is currently under review.


