Challenge testing membrane microfilters at a wastewater facility in the New York city watershed

Abstract

The Hobart wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was upgraded in 2002 pursuant to New York City (NYC) Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Watershed Rules and Regulations. The upgrade work included the addition of a tertiary treatment process, whereby secondary effluent from the extended air activated sludge process now undergoes rapid mix/flocculation, sand filtration, microfiltration (MF), and ultra violet (UV) disinfection, prior to discharge into the West Branch Delaware River. The upgrade was part of a broad program to ensure that wastewater treatment facilities which discharge into the NYC Watershed upholds State Point Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit limits well into the future. Sand filtration prior to microfiltration is required per DEP specifi cations for SPDES upgraded WWTPs to ensure a reliable process. The membrane system at Hobart was therefore designed per the specification to treat the plant's rated capacity of 180,000 gpd (681,400 lpd) with upstream media filters serving as...