ECR Board: The East Central Regional Water Reclamation Facility (ECRWRF) is funded and governed by a board comprised of the representatives of the entities served by that facility, namely: the City of West Palm Beach, the City of Lake Worth, the City of Riviera Beach, the Town of Palm Beach, and Palm Beach County.
Mission: To operate and maintain the East Central Regional Water Reclamation Facility in a cost effective, reliable, and safe manner, which meets all State and Federal permits and regulations.
Operations: The ECRWRF is licensed to function under specific guidelines by the State of Florida and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The plant is operated by Florida licensed Wastewater Plant Operators.
Capacity The ECRWRF is currently permitted to process 55 million gallons of wastewater per day (MGD). That capacity will be increased to 70 MGD with the completion of an expansion project currently underway.
(Above Picture) East Central Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility,
West Palm Beach, Florida
Water Reclamation Process
Wastewater entering a treatment plant is referred to as the INFLUENT. Influent consists of water, organic materials from toilets and kitchen disposals, and inorganic material such as sediment and industrial chemicals.
BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD) is a measure of the organic pollution present in wastewater. BOD is the amount of oxygen needed by bacteria to break down organic material. Influent has a high BOD because of the levels of organic wastes in the water. Bacteria utilize this organic material as a source of food. In the process of dissolving the organic substances, much of the oxygen from the water is consumed. When the organic material (and the BOD) in the wastewater is removed, the environmental impact of the effluent is greatly reduced
Our facility is designed to remove as much of the waste from the influent as possible so that the treated water (EFFLUENT) will have minimal impact on the environment when it is returned.
The following screens provide more information on the individual steps in the Wastewater Reclamation Process.
(L to R): Preliminary Treatment, Headworks Bypass Structure, and Pumping Station
Influent: Wastewater generated by residential users, businesses and industry is transported to the Water Reclamation Facility via underground piping throughout the city and county.
Septage Receiving: The ECRWRF also operates a septage receiving station at the facility. Septage is best described as a mixture of sludge, fatty materials, human waste, and wastewater removed during the pumping of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, such as a septage tank or portable toilets. All septic waste received by the facility is pumped into the plant Headworks for treatment with the influent wastewater.
Septage Receiving Station
Preliminary Treatment: Influent enters the facility at the Headworks where it flows through a bar screen to remove rags, sticks and similar large debris and then though a pair of grit chambers where sand, gravel and similar materials, collectively referred to as grit, are removed.
Activated Sludge Process: The ECRWRF uses the activated sludge process to treat wastewater. This is a treatment in which wastewater and biological sludge (microorganisms) are mixed and aerated. The activated sludge process relies on creating a mixture of microorganisms that consume organic waste material in the wastewater. The biological solids are then separated from the treated wastewater in clarifiers and returned to the aeration process as needed.
Influent wastewater flows from the Headworks to the Aeration Basins where air from high volume blowers is forced into the bottom of the basin thru ceramic diffusers. The high volumes of forced air creates an environment where microorganisms thrive by devouring solids and waste. The air also suspends and mixes the bacteria and organic material so they are more readily consumed.
Clarifiers: Activated sludge from the aeration basins flow into the plant's eight clarification tanks. Control manifolds regulate the flow from the basins into each of the clarifiers.
The Clarifiers serve to settle the suspended solids in the effluent. This water/solids separation is performed by gravity. The majority of the bacteria rich solids from the bottom of the clarifiers are returned to the aeration basin to support and sustain the growth of microorganisms, with a small portion of the solids being "wasted" to the aerobic digester. The water in the clarifier tank then flows to the effluent pump station.
(L to R): Aeration Digester, Clarifier, and Deep Well
Effluent Pumping & Disposal: The wastewater, now termed EFFLUENT, is pumped down one of six deep wells for final disposal. The deeps wells extend into the solid rock layer or Bolder Zone of the earth, approximately three thousand feet below the surface. Disposal of treated effluent in this manner is approved by the State of Florida and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Aerobic Digester: The "wasted" bacteria from the clarifiers are pumped into the Aerobic Digestion basin. Here the bacteria sludge is aerated without the addition of a new food (BOD) source, other than the sludge itself. This causes the bacteria to digest the material in their own cells, and other dead cells. The result of this digestion is a more stable material that does not produce nuisance odors, and is more suitable for dewatering.
Dewatering Operation: Sludge from the Aerobic Digester is pumped to the Dewatering Building. A polymer solution is added to the liquid sludge to thicken it prior to processing in the plant's five belt filter presses. The belt filter presses utilize separate gravity and compression zones to drain and squeeze the water from the sludge. With careful monitoring and adjusting, it is possible to produce a sludge cake that is 15 to 18 percent solid material.
(L to R): Belt Filter Presses andTruck Loading Station
The sludge cake is loaded into tractor-trailers and hauled to the Solid Waste Authority's Second Nature Composting Facility for further treatment prior to its beneficial reuse.
Wetlands Based Water Reclamation Project (WBWRP):
The Wetlands Based Water Reclamation Project is an innovative program that will enable the City of West Palm Beach to reuse treated wastewater to enhance wetlands and recharge the surfacial
aquifer that feeds the City water supply. This City project is supported by the South Florida Water Management
District, Florida Communities Trust, the Federal and Florida Environmental Protection Agencies, and Palm Beach
County.
The WBWRP will be capable of providing high-level treatment for up to 10 MGD of treated effluent from the ECRWRF. The purpose of the AWT will be the removal of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), BOD, TSS, and bacteria. The treatment process includes an automated strainer, a deep-bed denitrification filter, ballasted flocculation clarifiers, traveling bridge sand filters, and an ultra-violet disinfection unit. Effluent from the WBWRP will be pumped to nearby natural wetlands for additional treatment. These wetlands will provide habitat for a variety of native animal and plant species. Water flowing through the wetlands will be naturally cleansed and filtered and will recharge the surfacial aquifer.
Wetlands Based Water Reclamation Facility
(L to R): Deep Bed Denitrification,
Traveling Bridge Filter, Ballasted Flocculation Unit Filters
Deep-bed Denitrification Filter
Traveling Bridge Filter
After flowing through the caps, the water will be pumped to the City of West Palm Beach's wetlands and eventually to the M-canal where it will flow to the City Water Treatment Plant. The benefits of this process to the City include:
- Reuse of reclaimed water
- Enhancement of wetlands
- Aquifer recharging
- Conservation / creation of water resources
- Reduction of dependence or regional water reserves
Operations and Maintenance
The Water Reclamation Facility operates under the leadership of the West Palm Beach, Director of Public Utilities.
An Executive Manager oversees day-to-day operations, budgeting and long range planning for the ECRWRF.
The Chief Operator and fifteen additional operators, licensed by the State, monitor and control the daily workings of the plant and wastewater treatment process.
The Maintenance Supervisor and a crew of three electricians and four mechanics work full time to maintain the plant. A warehouse specialist orders and stores parts and equipment for the plant.
Two tractor-trailer drivers/heavy equipment operators are assigned to operations. Two Septage Station attendants process commercial vehicles through the dumping process.
The Grounds Maintenance Supervisor and a crew of four specialists maintain the appearance of the plant, provide janitorial services and attend to plant beautification.
The plant operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty five days a year.
Wastewater Reclamation Facility Expansion
Palm Beach County is one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. Given our rapid increase in population and the projected increases over the next years, the ECRWRF is undertaking construction to expand the treatment capacity of the facility from 55 to 70 MGD.
Plant expansion construction began in March 2004. Improvements include the following:
- The addition of more effluent pumps
- The addition of a seventh Deep Injection Well
- The installation of an additional Air Blower
- Improvements to the aerobic digester
- The addition of a second Equalization Basin
- The installation of an additional influent bar Screen
(L to R): Clarifier 5 in Operation, Clarifier 6 Rehabilitation, Effluent Pumps 1 & 2
(L to R): Aeration Blower, New Equalization Tank, Blower Building
