George T. Lohmeyer Regional Wastewater Treatment
Plant
Size
Located in Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
the 55.7-million-gallon-a-day plant site occupies
a
ten-acre parcel of land. It has five effluent disposal
wells, each 3000 feet deep, located a mile off the
site.
History
In 1978, the old 3 MGD plant was replaced by a two-stage
biological treatment plant rated at 22 MGD.Expansions
and modifications to the facility were completed in
1986, to provide 38 MGD of secondary treatment capacity
for the central region. The plant was upgraded in
1994 to a capacity of 43 MGD. In 2004, the plant was again improved and its rating increased to its current 55.7 MGD capacity.
Operations
The plant converts raw sewage into its final form
call "effluent." This effluent flows to
a pumping station where it is sent into four deep
injection wells for disposal. These wells are located
near the plant in another part of Port Everglades.
Operations / Equipment
The plant is comprised of a series of buildings,
reactors, holding tanks, and pump stations. This includes
a pretreatment building and air scrubber facility,
oxygen control and compressor building, oxygen storage
tanks and cooling towers, oxygen reactors, sludge
pumping stations and dewatering facilities, clarifiers,
and disinfection facilities. Wastewater from residential
and commercial buildings is sent to the plant through
force mains. The wastewater goes through several screening
processes, pure oxygen treatment, and chlorination
to render the wastewater safe for disposal. The wastewater
process residuals (sludge) undergo further processing
called dewatering and lime stabilization prior to
application as a soil amendment on agricultural lands or to an approved landfill.
Emergency Backup
Emergency power is a necessity at a wastewater treatment
plant. The Lohmeyer plant has a 1,800 KW diesel generator
set providing partial emergency and standby power
for the facility.
Collection
System |
Pretreatment |
Oxygen
Reactor |
Pumps and underground piping collect and transport
water wastes from households and light industry
to a wastewater treatment facility. |
Removal of large debris and inorganic materials
is performed with specialized equipment. The
remaining contaminants in the wasterwater are
organic substances.
|
Wastewater combines with cultured micro- organisms
at the head of the reactor. Vigorously mixed,
they ingest organics and multiply within the
reactor.
|
Secondary Clarifier |
Waste Activated Sludge |
Effluent Disposal |
Clarifiers provide a calm zone that allow micro-organisms
to form cluster. The clusters continue to consume
any residual organics as settling occurs. Clear,
treated water is removed and disinfected with
chlorine before final disposal. The remaining
sludge at the bottom of the clarifier is transported
back to the head of the reactor or removed from
the treatment process as waste.
|
A port of settled sludge is removed from the
treatment process to provide process balance.
Water is removed from the waste sludge and lime
is added to stabilize the sludge prior to land
application or landfill disposal.
|
All secondary effluent is collected and pumped
into five 24-inch diameter injection wells.
Each well extends down to a depth of 3,000 feet
where effluent is discharged into a dolomite
formation known as the Boulder Zone.
|
|
