
This municipal water treatment facility had a sediment vault that accumulated 18 inches
of iron sludge over the course of 10 years, and it had to be removed in a timeframe of 5
hours in order to maintain water in the water tower for the village. A contractor was hired
to vacuum the sludge from the vault and haul it to a wastewater lagoon site owned by the
village. Trucks holding 5,300 to 6,500 gallons were used to transfer the iron sludge.
WaterSolve worked with the village to prepare a containment site for a 99 cubic yard
Geotextile Tube to receive the sludge and dewater it.
DOWNLOAD PDF Applications & ProductsGeotextile Tube Containers, Polymers, Polymer Feed SystemServicesEnvironmental Cleanup, Dewatering, Complete Solutions, Turnkey Project ManagementIndustryMunicipl Water TreatmentLocationUSA
Prior to the onset of the project, a dewatering trial performed by a WaterSolve technician determined Solve 137 was the best polymer for water release, clarity, and flocculation for this residual. The village manager determined a driveway between a lagoon and a building would be the best place to position a Geotextile Tube. There was adequate electricity and water to supply the WaterSolve Model 1000-V2 polymer make-down unit to be used in the project. The clean filtrate water could gravity flow to the lagoon without needing a pump.
Ten years prior to this clean out the village reported to have removed 28,000 gallons of the sludge. WaterSolve estimated 28,000 gallons of this residual would fit in a 30 ft. circumference by 50 ft. long tube. This tube would fit ideally on a driveway between the lagoon and the building.
There were 4 truckloads containing 5,300 gallons unloaded into the Geotextile tube on the morning of the clean out for a total of 21,200 gallons. The iron sludge was thicker than expected. The sample used for the estimating indicated 2% dry wt. solids and a sample taken from the trucks was 3.9%. One truckload containing 6,500 gallons was stored for a week and then pumped into the tube when the tube had shrunk enough to hold it. This brought the total to 27,700 gallons. 2 months after the pour, we measured 26 cubic yards in the tube and it tested 17.5% dry wt. solids. The dewatering process had reduced the volume by approximately 80%. The sludge passed paint filter and was hauled to a landfill successfully. One barrel of the Solve 137 polymer was needed to flocculate the iron sludge slurry as it was pumped into the geotextile tube.