Membrane Replacement Project Successful

On June 16, 2009, the team of Great Blue Heron Management and Applied Water Management replaced four GE Zenon ZeeWeed hollow fiber membrane modules at the Outdoor World Vacation Resort in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The wastewater treatment facility, operated by Great Blue Heron Management, was in need of replacing membranes that had been in operation for over five years. Typical membranes of this type might have had a longer life span however this facility is not equipped with a pretreatment tank. Consequently, the bioreactor accumulates debris, hair and rags that shorten the life of the individual strands through a process called delamination. In essence what happens is the rags force their way inbetween the membrane strands which puts stress on them causing them to stretch, delaminate and ultimately break. Once the strands delaminate or break, you begin to pull suspended solids into the permeate which results in compliance problems.

The entire process required about ten hours from start to finish. Once the installation was complete the membranes were tested for vacuum and permeate flow and both were within a very good range for new membranes. The wastewater facility should be able to produce excellent quality effluent for the foreseeable future!

Here, Steve puts the finishing touches on the new membranes just prior to testing. Thanks to the Applied Water Team of Aram, Steve and Roger for their work on this project. Thanks also go out to the owners representatives Donna and Don!

BioMag Pilot Plant Facility

We've just completed managing all aspects of a full scale pilot of BioMag technology by Cambridge Water Technologies at Upper Gwynedd Township Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pennsylvania.



The goal of the pilot was to prove that BioMag would allow the existing 6 MGD facility to treat sustained wet weather flows of up to 12 MGD while maintaining permit compliance particularly with regards to suspended solids capture in the secondary clarifiers.




The pilot was constructed by Interstate Water and Wastewater Specialists in three weeks and officially kicked off on March 18, 2009. The plant was separated into a control section and BioMag section in essence creating the potential for each side to treat 6 MGD for a total plant flow of 12 MGD. During the first month both sides treated similar flows while the system was charged with magnetite.

Once the magnetite to biosolids ratio reached a desired level, several high flow tests were conducted for 8 hr periods culminating with a 24 hour test all greater than 6 MGD. Total suspended solids averaged less than 10 ppm and the sludge blanket was maintained less than 3 feet during the testing. Cambridge Water Technologies, EERM (Environmental Engineer and Management Associates - owners consultant) and the owner were excited about the results and all parties are considering it a success. The final report will be published in the very near future.



I have the opportunity to meet some great folks on this job. Thanks go to Lee Honeywell and his staff for making my stay in Upper Gwynedd a pleasure. Also thanks to Ed Gillette and his staff for setting the bar high enough to make me sweat!

Next on the BioMag Pilot world tour are several possible eastern US cities and towns. Stay tuned......

Welcome to the Great Blue Heron Blog

In an industry that is constantly changing with evolving technologies and regulations, it's important to keep updated on the latest happenings in your local and regional plants and facilities.

This blog is designed to give water and wastewater industry professionals an idea of some of the more interesting technologies and challenges our company faces on a day to day level.

We also hope to educate and inform our clients, partners and website visitors of some of the new advancements we are providing, as well as ways to work with older, established systems to make them more efficient.

We look forward to your comments and feedback!

- Roy