Crew Gets Creative to Remove Vegetation in Manatee County USST recently completed work for Manatee County Utilities, who needed two tank structures cleaned at multiple facilities in order to restore valuable capacity. The sludge holding tank at the North Water Reclamation Facility in Palmetto, Florida was overrun with cattails and rags. At initial glance, it looked like a simple job of removing the 4-f00t high vegetation off the top. However, once the project was underway, an 8-foot root system with rag material woven throughout was discovered underwater. USST’s unique Combination3® trucks are equipped with a 49-foot extendable boom, along with vacuum, downhole pump and jetter. “We used our 49-foot extended boom with hydraulic claw to remove the vegetation from the holding tank while it remained in operation,” says USST’s Field Supervisor, Paul Del Favero, who has been with the company since 2015. Lead by Paul, the USST crew removed almost 60-CY of material from the structure and the project was completed on schedule. Meanwhile, a FOG tank at the Southeast Regional WWTP in Bradenton, Florida was also in need of cleaning. We talked with Manatee’s Utilities Plant Maintenance Supervisor, Donny Adams regarding the FOG tank project, who has been … Read More
80-Cubic Yards of Sand and Grit Removal from Lift Station
Challenging Confined Space Entry in Anastasia Island Anastasia Island’s Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) was experiencing reduced pumping capacity due to accumulated solids in their influent lift station, a facility with a permitted capacity of 4.95MGD. Due to the challenging nature of the 35-foot deep structure, Anastasia Island’s wet well hadn’t been cleaned in several years, resulting in the accumulation of a significant amount of material. “The pump station consists of four Gorman-Rupp self-priming solids handling centrifugal pumps,” explained James Overton, P.E., at the St. Johns County Utility Department (SJCUD). “Due to grit and rags that accumulated, one pump was completely out of service and the pumping capacity of a second pump was greatly reduced and beginning to clog on a regular basis. SJCUD was concerned about losing another pump and needed to take action.” With the help of USST’s Combination3® truck and equipment, the USST crew removed 80-CY of material from the wet well via confined space entry. Due to high levels of H2S (hydrogen sulfide) gas, USST crew members were extremely cautious when entering the wet well during the project. “We follow all safety and compliance procedures when entering a confined space, taking extra care when high levels of … Read More
Limiting Time in the Tank
CONFINED SPACE ENTRY IN THE WASTEWATER INDUSTRY Confined spaces can be deadly. Each year, many people are seriously injured or killed while working or attempting to rescue those in confined spaces across a wide range of industries. The term “permit-required confined space” is defined by OSHA as possessing one or more of the following characteristics: Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere Has walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into a smaller area that could trap or asphyxiate an entrant Contains other recognized safety or health hazards, such as unguarded machinery, exposed live wires or heat stress In the wastewater maintenance industry, there are many situations that can require confined space entry, most commonly when structures have limited or no means of ingress or egress such as wet wells, digesters, or aeration basins with high tank walls. The removal of rag material from wastewater structures is another circumstance where confined space entry is most likely required during maintenance routines. Dangers of confined spaces within wastewater infrastructure can include: Lack of oxygen Poisonous gases, fumes or vapors Liquids, solids or gases that can suddenly fill the space or release gases into it Lack … Read More
Ops Challenge Takes Over FWRC
If you were one of the 3,850 attendees at the Florida Water Resources Conference last week, you may have had the privilege of checking out the some of the FWRC Ops Challenge events. Known as the “Olympics of the Wastewater Industry,” the Ops Challenge follows teams of four as they compete in a series of events, including Process Control, Laboratory, Maintenance, Collections, and Safety in order to secure a spot at the national competition at WEFTEC. This year, seven teams competed in the overall Ops Challenge, with clever team names such as Destin’s Positive Influents, JEA’s Fecal Matters, St. Petersburg’s Dirty Birds, GRU’s True Grit, St. Cloud’s Methane Madness, and Orange County’s Treatment Outlaws. Team Positive Influents from Destin Water Users, Inc. (DWU) was one of the smallest and only private organization competing in the 2018 Ops Challenge, representing a total of 65 employees. Lead by Logan Law, Destin’s Wastewater Operations Specialist, all members were Class A Operators, and this was their second year competing. Positive Influents came in first in Process Control and placed second in Collections, having won both events last year in their first year competing. During the Safety event, teams must respond to a worker that … Read More
USST at FWRC in Daytona Beach, FL
Last week, USST exhibited for the 5th year running at this year’s 2018 Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC) in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was all hands on deck as we had the opportunity to meet and greet with customers, discuss their facility’s needs, and had fun spinning our prize wheel giveaway and snack station. You could even charge your phone or tablet if you were running low by the end of the day. There were 3,850 attendees this year and we enjoyed speaking with everyone who stopped by the booth. In the middle of the Exhibit Hall, the Regional Ops Challenge was underway, where seven teams competed for a spot in the national challenge coming up this Fall at WEFTEC. You can read about the results of the Challenge and how each team performed on our other blog post here. If you missed us at FWRC, you can catch us at the next event. Keep an eye on our Conferences page which we’ll update as new events are scheduled, or simply give us a call to make an appointment at any time at (844) 765-7688.
In The USST Spotlight: Chris Jones
Say Hello to Chris Jones, one of our hardworking Service Technicians here at USST. Following in the steps of his family, Chris has a background in trades work building powerlines before joining the U.S. Submergent team, while his grandfather worked as an aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Airforce. Having just hit his one-year mark with USST, Chris is a valued member of our team with a surprising love of soup lunches and gardening. Read on to learn more about our up-and-coming team member. Hometown: Norfolk, Virginia. What I Do as a Service Tech II: Run equipment, think ahead and solve problems, and fix equipment in my downtime. Describe Your Typical Day: Travel to the jobsite, discuss what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it, as well as any challenges we may be facing, and then we get the job done. Favorite Aspect of the Job: Every day is a new learning experience for me, and I look forward to being able to prepare and motivate my own crew for the day Work-Safe Checklist: Safety Tailboard – we discuss our safety plan at least once a week. My Inspiration: My family. My father was a trades man … Read More
One Truck, One Tool
23-Foot Deep Lift Station Cleaned While in Operation Tallahassee’s Summerbrooke lift station was due for scheduled maintenance, needing both FOGs on the surface and sand and grit on the bottom removed. While this could have proved to be a challenging situation, the USST crew and equipment was able to restore capacity quickly and efficiently. USST’s Field Supervisor, Paul Del Favero, arrived with a team prepared to remove debris from wet or dry conditions. Our patented Combination3® equipment allows our crew to remove debris from water surface and structure bottom without additional equipment or repositioning. “Our truck is uniquely equipped to solve lift station challenges,” says Denver Stutler, Jr., Co-founder and CEO of USST. “Oftentimes, you don’t know what to expect, and our equipment has the ability to perform like a Swiss Army Knife in the field.” USST utilizes downhole pumping (in submerged or normal flow) or vacuum (in dry or low flow) as required and is equipped to switch between the two methods in any circumstance, with minimal downtime. The USST crew first removed the FOG layer off the top of Tallahassee’s Summerbrooke lift station with the vacuum, and utilized the downhole pump to remove all residual material off the bottom … Read More
20-Foot High Tank Cleaned While in Operation
180-CY Removed in Davie, Florida Capacity was recently restored to the Town of Davie’s WWTP as part of their Capital Improvement Program, a facility which handles an average daily flow of around 3MGD. More than 180-CY of sand and material was removed from Davie’s 20-foot high surge tank while it remained in full operation. Using USST’s extended boom and Combination3® technology, the material removed was immediately ready for disposal. John McGeary has resided as Chief Operator of the Town of Davie’s WWTP for almost five years, and has 38 years’ experience in the wastewater industry. He says “[I was] pleased with the professionalism and the efficiency of the operation. We also liked the initial dryness of debris removed during the process.” With jetter, vacuum and downhole pumping with 49-foot knuckleboom fully integrated on one truck chassis, USST’s Combination3® technology delivers a powerful punch in the submergent cleaning industry. No additional equipment or tools are needed to be brought in, saving time and resources for the client. Paul Del Favero, USST’s Field Supervisor, lead our crew in completing the Davie project efficiently and on schedule. Paul Stephenson, Michael Kisling and Donald Barnes were also part of our hardworking team onsite. … Read More
You May Have a Sand Problem and Not Even Realize It
Identifying and Managing Annual I&I Issues Where does the sand in wastewater treatment plants come from? The answer is the collection system. Determining whether or not there is an I&I (inflow and infiltration) issue can be the real challenge. Spring is just around the corner, and with it, the time of year when most of the country’s rainfall usually occurs. Throughout the wet season, an increase in flow into a WWTP can be due to inflow and not an increase in domestic wastewater collected. Increase in flow is also a potentially a reliable indicator that treatment capacity has been compromised and may need to be restored. Over time, sand seeps into pipes and lift stations and is eventually transported to WWTP infrastructure. Sand, unlike other debris such as rag material, FOGs, and grit, is an unintended consequence of increased inflow into collection systems. During heavy rainfall, wastewater collection pipes receive an inflow of rainwater which seeps into the pipes transporting sand. Seepage bringing sand usually occurs without notice until the associated problems have become acute and require immediate attention. I&I issues tend to be out of sight, out of mind. The consequences of I&I tend to go undetected due to the fact … Read More
New Year, New Goals, New Plans
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when we are tasked with setting plans in motion for the new year ahead. For many, the new year means setting new goals. Our business sets goals each year, and are only achieved when we have a written, realistic plan. Our plans provide the tasks and activities required of the team and organization to achieve our goals. The more thought given on unresolved issues while developing your plan, the fewer delays experienced during execution and implementation. Given that some of our implementation or action plans are being finalized for 2018, it is a good time to revisit of some of the lessons learned that have reinforced the importance of measuring twice and cutting once. Try institutionalizing the lessons learned so that they become best practices by all going forward In order to develop a meaningful plan, an understanding or honest assessment of where we are, where we are headed, and what it will take to get there, is important. The plan should be logical and rational so it makes sense to the people it is supposed to make sense to. The person responsible or accountable to the organization for implementing … Read More
