Municipal Wastewater Treatment
City of Fruitland, Idaho
Pharmer Engineering was retained by the City of Fruitland to serve as City Engineer for the City’s water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. Due to the City’s lack of potable water during the upcoming summer, the first task by Pharmer was to design and construct a temporary water treatment system.
Pharmer took on this task in a fast-track approach so that the water treatment system which will draw water from the Payette River would be in place and operational by mid-July. In order to meet the needs by the accelerated growth in the area, Pharmer conducted a City-wide water facilities plan and started work on the upgrades required for the water treatment facilities in the Fall of 2007.
Palisades Water and Sewer Feasibility Study
Economic growth in and around the City of Fruitland has been expanding over the past years. The Palisades junction is approximately 1.75 miles south of the City and is at a major intersection of two State Highways as well as bordering the interstate. Pharmer Engineering examined the feasibility of providing water and sewer services to the Palisades area, which will allow for economic growth to the area. The study was funded through USDA and the Idaho Department of Labor and Commerce Funding Grants.Wastewater Facility Plan
Two lagoon wastewater treatment systems serve the City of Fruitland, each with a major food processor as a discharger. With the expiration of their discharge permits to the Snake and Payette Rivers, the City hired Pharmer Engineering to evaluate their wastewater treatment systems for capacity and to determine necessary upgrades to meet expected NPDES discharge requirements.City of Idaho City, Idaho
Pharmer Engineering has been working closely with Idaho City to complete a number of projects over the past few years, including updates to the wastewater system, completing a Water Facility Plan, and preparing to implement the design and construction of two new wells, two new storage tanks, and numerous repairs and upgrades to the City's water distribution system. Pharmer Engineering has also assisted in writing numerous grant and loan applications to provide funding for City projects. Some of these projects include a $75,000 Water Facility Planning Grant through DEQ, an $88,000 Energy Block Grant provided by the Office of Energy Resources for updates at City Hall and improvements to the Ray Robison Community Center, a $50,000 Transportation Grant provided by the Local Highway Assistance Council to complete a transportation plan, and a $2.04 million loan from the DEQ State Revolving Loan Fund at 0% interest with over $440,000 in loan forgiveness to design and construct the improvements to the water system.
Wastewater Treatment System
Idaho City retained Pharmer Engineering to help maintain and update its wastewater system. Pharmer Engineering has completed the annual land application reports to meet DEQ requirements since 2008, and assisted the City in submitting an application for a new land applicatoin permit. Pharmer Engineering also worked with the City to develop a plan to expand the wastewater sewer system and add a pump station to include the southwestern end of town, and to update the City's wastewater plant flow effluent measurement technology to maintain more accurate and complete records.City of Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho
Water and Sewer District
Pharmer Engineering has been working with the City of Ketchum / Sun Valley Water and Sewer District for many years. During this time, Pharmer Engineering permitted the facility as a Class A effluent reuse facility (one of only a few Class A permits in the State), which allows the treated water to be used as irrigation water on nearby property.
Pharmer Engineering prepared several facility plans or updates and implemented several improvement projects for the Sewer District:
- Wastewater Reuse Planning. Pharmer Engineering completed the reuse application for irrigating a nearby subdivision and the treatment plant grounds. The Class A water treatment process uses conventional activated sludge treatment with cloth media filtration. This will be instrumental in the planned expansion of reuse in the future as an alternative to river discharge of treated water.
- Tertiary Filtration Projects. In the fall/winter of 2005-2006 Pharmer Engineering designed a tertiary filtration system that includes cloth media disk filters. The filters were put online in February 2007, meeting treatment expectations.
- Aeration Basin. In 2005, Pharmer Engineering designed two new aeration basins with fine bubble aeration with associated civil and yard piping components. Construction began in the spring 2005 and was completed in the summer 2006.
- UV Disinfection, Electrical and SCADA Design. Chlorination was replaced by a new ultraviolet (UV) system. Other improvements included a new centralized electrical system and a full SCADA system. The project was constructed over two years during 2003-2004.
- Wastewater Facilities Plan. In 1999 and 2003, Pharmer Engineering staff prepared comprehensive Wastewater Facility Plans. Pharmer was also hired to complete the 2008 Facilities Plan.
- Secondary Clarifier Improvements. Pharmer Engineering designed a new 90 foot diameter clarifier and a chemical feed system for phosphorus removal.
- Near Term Sludge Handling Improvements. Pharmer Engineering provided improved sludge aeration and load-out facilities so the City could resolve nuisance odor issues.
- Headworks Improvements. Improvements to the headworks eliminated odor and noise issues by replacing the influent lift pumps, installing mechanical screening with a screenings washer, and adding a chemical odor scrubber for the headworks buildings.
City of Meridian, Idaho
Dissolved Air Flotation Replacement and Wastewater Reuse
The City of Meridian selected Pharmer Engineering to retrofit an existing dissolved air flotation thickener unit. The retrofit included a new float box, rake, rake arms, skimmers, rotating feed well, drive mechanism and local control panel. The existing weirs were adjusted and the deck, handrails and beams were reused. New supports for the deck beam were installed to provide required tolerances for the drive mechanism. In addition to providing construction management services, Pharmer Engineering developed construction drawings, bid documents and technical specifications for the City.City of Payette, Idaho
Wastewater Facility Plan Update & Secondary Clarifier PreDesign
In 2006-2007, Pharmer Engineering updated the City of Payette’s 1999 Facility Plan to reflect changes in flow and loads and anticipated NPDES permit changes due to TMDL limitations. The Facility Plan outlined several improvements including a new secondary clarifier. Pharmer Engineering worked with the City on the predesign and buffer distances for the clarifier.City of Shoshone, Idaho
Wastewater Facilities Plan
Pharmer Engineering completed a Wastewater Facilities Plan and Predesign for the City of Shoshone. Components of the Plan included a flow and load analysis, population projections, regulatory overview, wastewater treatment capacity analyses, capital alternative development to meet planning year needs at the wastewater treatment facility and collection system, and a user rate analysis.
The capital improvement plan includes roughly $2.25 million in treatment plant upgrades and $0.75 million in collection system upgrades. Pharmer Engineering assisted the City with project funding for the selected alternatives.
City of Wilder, Idaho
Wastewater Treatment System Improvements
Pharmer Engineering designed the improvements necessary for the City of Wilder to meet the projected wasteload generated from a future population of 2,750 residents. Improvements to the wastewater treatment plant required the entire system to be modified including influent pumping, influent screening, system hydraulics, lagoon lining, effluent filtration, chlorination and dechlorination, and automated sampling. Upgrades to the existing lagoon treatment system postponed the need for a more complex and costly addition of a conventional activiated sludge treatment system.City of Worthington, Minnesota
Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant Design
Pharmer Engineering staff served as Project Manager/Lead Process Engineer for the design of a phosphorus removal and sludge handling project for the City of Worthington's 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 as a thickener to minimize storage volume. Waste activated sludge is thickened and 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.