EnBiorganic Technology Case Study - Lagoon Process Treatment System

Location: Wastewater Lagoon at Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
AbstractLagon process treatment system in Saskatchewan discovers an effective and affordable way to reduce sludge along with some added benefits.
Seeking solutions to effectively remove its lagoon sludge and reduce the associated costs, the City of Weyburn, SK opted to implement a new automated bioaugmentation service technology from EnBiorganic Technologies on a performance trial basis. The EBS-Di technology was attractive to Weyburn due to its plug and play readiness, zero CAPEX for the City, and efficiency. In under 60 days, results were demonstrated in the de-sludging of the lagoons as well as elimination of odor. An additional benefit to the service was the removal of Fats, Oil and Grease within the City’s lift stations which had long been an issue. So impressed with the results in such a short period, Weyburn’s utility staff decided to enter an ongoing TAAS (Treatment as a Service) contract with Vital Utilities and EnBiorganic to continue the work begun in the performance trial. 
• Lagoons De-Sludged• Odor elimination• Elimination of FOG in Lift Stations• Capacity Balance

ChallengesOver its years of service, the lagoons have experienced heavy sludge buildup and have never been completely dredged. Some cleaning was performed in 2006, but this only comprised of cleaning around the inlet pipes and pumping the existing sludge to the edges of the lagoon and into its corners, however nothing was removed. The new sludge cells did receive a cleaning once after being put into service but nothing further in the way of sludge removal has been performed. The dredging of these cells was quite costly and Weyburn experienced issues being unable to dispose of what was dredged in the typical method as the material contained hydrocarbons and other contaminants that were at a level above acceptable limits for a standard landfill disposal.In addition to sludge remediation and disposal, Weyburn also experienced a high degree of Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) buildup in its lift stations that required confined space entry by its operators. 

SolutionThe City of Weyburn Engineering Department was researching alternative solutions to costly mechanical dredging and came across EnBiorganic Technologies (EBT) website. Pleased to read of a local operating EBT licensee, Weyburn reached out for further inquiries. LA Electrical Services operating as Vital Utilities, an EBT licensee, recommended that Weyburn consider a trial performance of EBT‘s EBS-Di autonomous bioaugmentation technology after learning of the City’s challenges and goals for its wastewater treatment. They felt strongly that this technology could help resolve Weyburn’s sludge issues, associated costs for dredging, disposal, and odor.
“It was a very attractive option to consider,“ shares Renée Cugnet, Municipal Engineer for the City of Weyburn. “The solution is not mechanical and would not require a large CAPEX equipment purchase or project to add onto our treatment facility. Being non-pathogenic, and natural with no byproduct solution was also a key benefit.” Because Weyburn had the land space available for using facultative lagoons, constructing a mechanical treatment facility or process could not be justified or considered the best route.

Successful Trial ResultsContinuous improvement in the collection system and sludge reduction was proof enough that this was a solution that Weyburn wanted to keep as part of their treatment process, so they entered a contractual service agreement with multiple extensions. The EBS-Di is provided on a TaaS Model, (Treatment as a Service) and did not require any CAPEX or additional OPEX for the city. All service and maintenance will be provided on contract with Vital Utilities with remote monitoring and control performed by EBT from its laboratory now that the performance trial is successfully completed. 
Although the trial incorporated the deployment of two units, it was determined by EBT’s technical staff and Vital Utilities that a single unit at #3 lift station would be sufficient to achieve the desired results. Note: Historically EBT has found that units placed further out in the collection system are more effective and can also deliver added benefits to the overall health of the collection system.

A Wise MoveTaking the leap of faith and trying a disruptive bio augmentation technology has been a step in the right direction for this small community. The experience has been positive all around, everyone was excellent to work with and dedicated to getting the system working and delivering the expected results,” says Wilkes. “The added benefits at the lift stations and other things that I'm sure will come to light the longer we have the unit in place are very exciting and we look forward to receiving many benefits from the technology long-term.”