USST Cleans Water Tanks While in Operation
Many types of tank structures are used in wastewater treatment systems. Over time, these various structures will all experience reduced capacity from gradually accumulating sand, grit, fats, oils, grease (FOGs), rag material, vegetation, and other types of debris. As populations increase and utility infrastructures age, the accumulation of debris may occur with increasing frequency.The buildup of these materials results in wear and tear on equipment, increased energy costs, and reduced utility or plant efficiency.
U.S. Submergent Technologies can clean many types of tanks while in operation, typically with no confined space entry. Our experienced crew handles more typical cleaning situations, where tanks are drained and crews make confined space entry, with a safety-first, high-efficiency approach that allows us to remove debris quickly.
The USST team can provide regular maintenance services and help position facilities to avoid or minimize costly repairs or replacement of expensive infrastructure. Additionally, when cleaning wet environments, USST’s patented GritGone Process® can result in a paint-filter dry material ready for disposal.
While tank depth and wall height are common constraints for other companies that remove sand and grit from tanks, chambers, basins, and other structures, our Combination3® equipment has extended reach. Even in drain-down or dry conditions, USST can achieve a high production rate and reach where others cannot.
click to expand
click to expand
Debris-Removal Claw
Large organic debris like fallen branches, rag accumulation, and other big solids can quickly compromise system performance. We can remove large amounts quickly and efficiently.
Online Structure Cleaning
Our technology and processes allow us to clean in a variety of conditions, including while tanks are online.
Safe, Efficient Confined Space Cleaning
Our roll-off boxes and experienced crew allow us to safely make confined space entry and efficiently remove up to 20 tons of material per day.
Advanced Dewatering Technology
The dewatering that takes place during the GritGone Process® allows USST to get material ready for disposal faster while on site, resulting in faster, cheaper debris removal.
Cleaning Large Diameter Pipes
Large-diameter pipes, which are 24-inch pipes and larger in diameter, are known for being hard-to-clean pipes. The volume of flow in large-diameter pipes inherently makes them inconvenient to bypass and, therefore, costly to drain.Using our GritGone Process® and downhole and jetter capabilities, U.S. Submergent Technologies® specializes in cleaning large-diameter pipes while wet, in submerged or surcharged conditions. We clean large-diameter pipes while in operation without bypass pumping.
In addition to our years of experience maximizing job efficiency using standard cleaning technology, USST also uses one-of-a-kind patented technology to produce results other equipment can’t match. While most vacuum trucks have only a vacuum, USST’s Combination3® Truck features a jetter and combined vacuum and downhole system to remove debris safely and efficiently in wet or dry conditions, sometimes while the system remains online. In typical situations, pipe flow must be temporarily blocked or bypassed for sand, grit, and other debris to be completely removed.
The Solution for Large-Diameter Pipe Blockages or Flooding
Sand and debris can clog large and smaller-diameter pipe systems, causing reduced capacity, blockages, and potential upstream flooding.
When a blockage or reduction in capacity is not addressed, the blocked pipe can:
- Cause flooding and water damage
- Compromise capacity of the entire system
- Cause mechanical damage immediately or slowly over time
Scheduled maintenance is critical for pipes in the system, but bypassing flow can be complicated and costly. USST’s equipment can maneuver through long runs of pipes and navigate modest turns in submerged conditions, making it possible to clean large-diameter pipes for routine maintenance or in an emergency situation.
Examples of Pipes USST Cleans
- Gravity sewer pipes or sanitary sewer collection pipes
- Outfall pipes
- Siphons
- Stormwater systems, including box culverts and baffle boxes
Removing Sand and Debris in Lift Stations and Pump Stations
Lift stations for wastewater and pump stations for either stormwater or wastewater are integral parts of wastewater and stormwater collection systems. However, sand and grit inevitably accumulate with both types of pumps when heavy rain leads to unwanted inflow issues.A pump station or lift station’s wet well capacity diminishes as the rag on top, sand, and grit volume accumulate, and pump run times increase as capacity declines. Working harder, the pump experiences unnecessary wear and tear. The more sand in a pump or lift station, the lower the wet well capacity, and the more frequently the pump starts and stops due to reduced cycle times. In a facility with only one operating pump and no redundancy, the already limited capacity of the structure is put under additional operational stress.
Removing this sand and grit by traditional methods typically requires a facility shutdown and confined space entry for cleaning, practices that are costly, time-consuming, and raise safety concerns.
Cleaning Lift Stations and Pump Stations
U.S. Submergent Technologies® has the technology and the experience to clean lift stations with methods no other company offers. We routinely make confined space entries to remove debris from pump stations and wet wells. Our safety processes ensure this is done with the highest level of professionalism, and our unique technology sometimes allows us to clean these structures while in operation, without draining or confined space entry.
With USST’s Combination3® truck, our crews can remove debris from lift stations using a single piece of equipment, quickly switching between cleaning modes to solve most access issues. The patented GritGone Process® reduces job time and makes debris disposal easier.
Our crews can remove debris from the water's surface and the bottom of the structure with our well-organized teams and efficient technology. The USST boom-operated claw can quickly handle debris like rag and large organic debris. At the same time, the downhole pump can restore the capacity of the wet well, and the vacuum removes smaller rag material as well as fats, oils, and greases from various areas of the system. Depending on your situation, these functions can be performed while the lift or pump station is in full operation, at full capacity, and without confined space entry.
U.S. Submergent Technology equipment is purposefully designed to clean in various ways, quickly and safely, making lift station cleaning one of our specialties.
Yes, USST Cleans That!
It takes a lot of different structures to manage wastewater, stormwater, and other effluent systems. Below is a sample of structures our technology and our team are prepared to clean.- Aeration Basin
- Anoxic Tank
- Baffle Box
- Box Culvert
- Clarifier
- Chlorine Contact Chamber
- Digester
- Effluent Channel
- Equalization Basin
- Grit Chamber
- Headworks
- Influent Channel
- Lagoon
- Large-diameter Pipe
- Lift Station
- Methane Tank
- Nearshore Dredging
- Outfalls
- Oxidation Ditch
- Pond
- Sand Filter
- Siphon
- Sludge Tank
- Splitter Box
- Storage Tank
- Stormwater Pipe
- Surge Chamber
- Trickling Filter
- Wet Well
- Backwash Basin
- Gypsum Pond
- Package Plant
- Reject Pond
- Sediment Trap
