Our team at Jersey Environmental Solutions recently completed a high turbidity treatment in Bordentown, NJ, to successfully resolve a critical effluent issue at a local juvenile detention center’s wastewater facility.
This local treatment facility began experiencing highly elevated effluent turbidity levels immediately following several days of heavy rainfall in the area. The severe wet weather event caused increased infiltration and inflow into the sewer collection system, which significantly raised overall plant flow rates. This sudden, massive surge of incoming water overwhelmed key portions of the treatment process and resulted in significant solids carryover directly into the final clarifiers. Our operations team quickly noticed rapidly declining clarifier performance, reduced sludge settling characteristics, and a growing, immediate risk of environmental permit exceedances.
Our operations team conducted a comprehensive process evaluation that included:
- Reviewing plant flow trends and influent loading data
- Performing settleability testing and sludge blanket measurements
- Evaluating return activated sludge (RAS) and waste activated sludge (WAS) rates
- Inspecting clarifier mechanical equipment and weir conditions
- Monitoring dissolved oxygen levels throughout the aeration system
Based on the findings, operators adjusted sludge wasting rates, optimized return sludge flows, and fine-tuned aeration control strategies to improve biological treatment performance.
The Results Of The High Turbidity Treatment in Bordentown, NJ
Within 72 hours of making these operational adjustments, effluent turbidity levels successfully returned to normal operating ranges. The clarifier performance stabilized, sludge settling characteristics improved, and the utility facility successfully maintained permit compliance throughout the entire wet weather event. By combining process expertise with proactive monitoring, our team helped the facility navigate this challenging wet weather event while protecting local water quality and successfully avoiding costly enforcement actions. Executing this targeted high turbidity treatment in Bordentown, NJ, allowed our team to:
- Prevented permit violations
- Improved clarifier efficiency
- Restored stable biological treatment performance
- Maintained regulatory compliance
- Minimized operational disruptions during peak flows
By combining process expertise with proactive monitoring, our team helped the facility navigate a challenging wet-weather event while protecting water quality and avoiding costly enforcement actions.
If your local utility facility is currently experiencing high turbidity levels or other complex operational challenges, please contact Jersey Environmental Solutions today so our experienced operators can help stabilize your systems and ensure complete peace of mind.
