Timpanogos Wastewater Treatment Plant

  • Laura Christiansen |
  • Marissa Croft |
  • Brent Jacobson |
  • Silas Schneider |
  • Melanie Sullivan |
  • Steven Wright

Introduction

The Timpanogos Special Service District (TSSD) wants to improve their Wastewater treatment facility. They requested that the new facility accounts for the following:

  • Smell coming from the drying beds.
  • Future population growth in the area.
  • New phosphorus limitations in the effluent set by the state of Utah.
  • Treat wastewater to meet Type 1 reuse standards.

In Figure 1, the image displays the current service area for TSSD. TSSD serves 10 different cities, and currently discharges the effluent wastewater into Utah Lake.

Utah Lake has problems with algal blooms. Reducing the amount of nutrients discharged into Utah Lake will prevent the algal blooms from occurring.

The state of Utah has set limitations on phosphorus removal to 0.1 mg/L. Aquatica Engineering has proposed a new design that addresses these set limitations.

Figure 1 – TSSD Service Area

Methods

Aquatica Engineering produced three treatment alternatives to meet the 0.1 mg/L phosphorous effluent limitation:

  • Free surface wetlands
  • Alum addition with sand filters
  • Alum addition with CoMag magnetic separation

Aquatica Engineering also produced two Type 1 reuse options:

  • Cooling water for Lakeside Power Plant
  • Irrigation for American Fork

Each alternative was evaluated individually and compiled into a Pugh Matrix found in Table 1. The criteria in the Pugh Matrix was assigned a weighted value that depended on its importance to the client and Aquatica Engineering. The Alum addition paired with irrigation for American Fork was found to be the most efficient alternative.

Table 1- Pugh Matrix for evaluation of alternatives.

Results

In order to meet Utah’s new phosphorus limitations, and enable Type 1 reuse, Aquatica Engineering analyzed and designed the following improvements to the Timpanogos Wastewater Treatment Plant:

  • Chemical phosphorus removal equipment
    • Alum addition tanks
  • Additional physical solids removal equipment to remove solids formed from chemical treatment
    • Tertiary Clarifiers
    • Sand Filters
  • Piping systems to connect the treatment plant to a secondary water system
    • Allow treated water to be used for irrigation

Conclusions

Out of the several alternatives examined during the design process, the combination of a chemical treatment by alum addition and irrigation water for American Fork was chosen.

The chemical and physical treatment processes will be capable of reducing phosphorus levels to meet the new state limitations. A new pipeline connecting the plant to a secondary water system will allow the plant to save money and reduce chemical use. This combined treatment and reuse system not only meets the design criteria for the project but is also the most cost-effective alternative.