Municipal Water and Wastewater Treatment

Pharmer Engineering has a wide diversity of project experience.  The wastewater experience includes planning and conceptual designs, cost opinions, rate studies/funding, detailed design, reuse planning/design, land application, construction management and startup/operation.  Many times our work involves technologies for nutrient removal (both nitrogen and phosphorus) and tertiary treatment (membrane bioreactors and effluent filtration).  Pharmer Engineering has the necessary combination of planning, design and construction experience to bring your project to a successful conclusion.

Over the years, our staff have worked on water and wastewater engineering projects for the following municipalities:

The projects below are Pharmer Engineering specific projects and are just a portion of the overall experience of our individual project team members.  The projects shown in this section are included because they contain similar technical/unit process components and/or because they illustrate the Pharmer Engineering commitment to client service.  We have both the capability and commitment to solve your wastewater or water system problems.  We would be pleased to provide any other project references upon your request.

ketchumCity of Ketchum/Sun Valley Water & Sewer District
Ketchum, Idaho

Pharmer Engineering has been working with The City of Ketchum / Sun Valley Water Sewer District for over six years.  In that time we have completed a number planning and detailed design projects; including facility planning and phosphorus removal efforts.  We believe our repeat business with the District reflects our commitment to client service and client satisfaction. 

Headworks Improvements

Bob Pharmer was the Lead Engineer for this headworks project. The project was initiated after the previously constructed facilities, designed by another engineer, created severe odors and noise and corrosion problems. In fact, the interior to the headworks building proved to be a health hazard to the operations staff due to the high levels of hydrogen sulfide released inside the building. After assisting the City and District in obtaining financial settlement with the previous engineer, Bob developed a new approach for influent pumping and odor control that made maximum use of the existing facilities while solving the odor, noise, and corrosion problems.

The design included a new screening building, new influent pump station, grit washer, and an odor scrubber for the grit building. The design successfully eliminated the odor, noise, and corrosion problems and provided improved screening. The appearance of the Screening Building closely followed the required architectural requirements detailed in the City’s agreement with the Lane Ranch Group. Construction work included groundwater dewatering, concrete, equipment, electrical and controls.

Subsequent work included improving screenings handling by automatic dewatering and bagging.  

Near-Term Sludge Handling Improvements

The sludge handling project, under the design management of Bob Pharmer and construction management of Brad Bjerke, improved aerobic digestion and the liquid sludge loading system. The original design of the sludge storage tanks did not effectively introduce oxygen into the sludge, resulting in objectionable odors and process problems. The near-term project design utilized fine bubble diffusers and centrifugal blowers to improve the aerobic digestion process and minimize odors. The sludge loading building provides an area for loading the digested sludge to minimize odors and improve operator safety.

The construction project required special attention to operations coordination while aerobic digester improvements were constructed. The project was constructed with no net increase in the construction contract amount (actually a decrease in the contract amount) and met the operational and aesthetic concerns of the City and District. Most importantly, it virtually eliminated the odor problems associated with the aerobic digestion process. With this project, Pharmer staff proved that they could successfully manage a “difficult” contractor and keep costs, quality, and schedule on track.

Subsequent work included design of a waste sludge pump that allowed continuous waste sludge flow to the gravity thickener. This operational change helped minimized the odor problems associated with batch wasting solids to the thickener tank.

Secondary Clarifier Improvements

The most recent construction project completed at the Ketchum/District plant was the design and construction of a new secondary clarifier and chemical feed system. Under the design and construction management direction of Brad Bjerke, this project involved removing an undersized secondary clarifier and replacing it with a larger clarifier. The project also included a new alum feed system for phosphorus removal that enclosed the alum storage tank and vastly improved alum handling.

The design optimized the available space to maximize the future treatment potential. The existing 40-foot diameter clarifier was replaced with a 90-foot diameter clarifier that will serve the community well into the future. The design utilized a low profile aluminum cover. The chemical feed design emphasized containment, safety and operational flexibility. All architectural design aspects of the project met the requirements of the Lane Ranch agreement as well as demands of other neighborhoods, which are sensitive to the building/structure aesthetics.

The construction phase included challenges concerning groundwater dewatering and weather-related delays. The project was constructed with no net increase in the construction contract amount and met the operational and aesthetic needs of the City.

Facilities Plan

Bob Pharmer was the Project Manager for the Ketchum/Sun Valley Facilities Plan in 1999 and Facilities Plan update in 2003.  The original Plan defined the planning area, wastewater flows/loads, plant capacity, expansion alternatives, solids handling alternatives, collection system, support facilities, electrical and instrumentation/controls. 

Brad Bjerke prepared the 2003 Facilities Plan update that not only revisited the flows/loads, expansion alternatives but also included water reuse.  The detailed Plan served as a pre-design for near-term improvements needed to meet future NPDES permit changes based on DEQ’s Watershed Management Plan which established TMDL limits for the Big Wood River.

UV Disinfection, Electrical and SCADA Design

The Pharmer Engineering team is nearing design completion of improvements scheduled to be constructed in 2004.  The Pharmer team designed a new UV disinfection system to replace a gas chlorine system.  Power Engineers designed a new centralized electrical system with increased standby power and Banyan Technology developed the new SCADA and security system.     

City of McCall, Idaho

McCall Water TankWater Storage & Pipeline

Pharmer Engineering staff was selected by the City of McCall in 2005 to design a one million gallon water storage tank.  The tank was feed from the water treatment plant through a dedicated 12” and 16” PVC lines up a steep grade to a buried concrete tank. 

The pipeline route passed through rocky areas that required blasting.  The tank site was on donated land and required the structure be designed to blend into the landscape with minimal disruption to the surroundings. 

Pharmer designed the concrete tank with consideration of the short construction season.  To save time, the roof was designed using pre-cast concrete columns, beams and double tee panels.  The cover was completed in two weeks.  The interior concrete surface was painted with a NSF 61 flexible polyurea coating.  The tank construction began in July 2005 and was completed by December 2005.  It was put into service after coating in the spring of 2006.  Our scope of engineering work included planning, design, construction administration, startup and training.

McCallWater Treatment Plant

Pharmer Engineering staff was selected by the City of McCall to provide engineering services associated with design changes and construction management of a new $6.5 million water filter plant. The project covered all aspects of a complex water filtration treatment system. The plant is computer-controlled and uses state-of-the-art SCADA systems for optimum performance and consistent water quality.

The project, which began construction in June 2001 was completed in February 2003. The scope of work included project management, value engineering design modifications, on-site construction observation, and contract administration and startup.

Pharmer personnel, led by Brad Bjerke, actively teamed with the City and Contractor to identify cost saving changes to the previously designed system. Through an initial value engineering effort, the team achieved cost savings of over $500,000. In addition to cost savings, Pharmer engineers were instrumental in making process changes in the disinfection process to provide a safer alternative to gaseous chlorine.

In an effort to satisfy nearby residences (the water plant is located in the exclusive Spring Mountain Ranch resort area), Pharmer Engineering’s CAD technician prepared computer graphics depicting the plant appearance when fully constructed (see rendering above). The building changes improved the appearance of the treatment building and provided significant cost savings for the project.

The project had:

worthingtonIndustrial Wastewater Treatment Plant Design
City of Worthington, Minnesota

Brad Bjerke served as Project Manager/Lead Process Engineer for the design of a phosphorus removal and sludge handling project for the City of Worthington, MN industrial wastewater treatment facility.  The project objectives were to remove phosphorus, thicken and store sludge and improve system performance.  Chemical phosphorus removal was selected as the most cost effective solution.  To assure compliance, cloth media filtration was included in the design.   

The solids handling facilities include a gravity belt thickener designed to function either as a thickener to minimize storage volume. Waste activated sludge is thickened then stored in two liquid sludge storage tanks, each 126 feet in diameter by 28 feet tall.  The liquid sludge is stored until fields become available each fall for land application.

The filter building included office and laboratory areas.  The chemical storage and filters were arranged in rooms slightly below grade to keep the overall building height to a minimum.  Careful attention was paid to building materials to make the facilities attractive and blend into the surrounding area.

 

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