Trinity River Authority Research Articles

Optimizing Water Supply through Reservoir Conversion and Storage of Return Flow- A Case Study at Joe Pool Lake

Maintaining an adequate water supply is one of the key challenges faced by the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, where increasing population and rising water demand have elevated the vulnerability of the communities to water shortages. In this paper, we conducted a preliminary study exploring the possibility of converting flood storage in the Joe Pool Lake (JPL) as a means to improve water supply reliability and achieve better cost efficiency. This study employs a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) approach that considers the costs of meeting conversion demand and supply requirements over the northern portion of the Trinity River Basin. It includes trade-offs between capturing and storing natural flow versus return flow from the treatment facilities of the Trinity River Authority (TRA). A set of hypothetical prices and demand figures with the record drought of 1940-1996 considered to test the LP model. The optimal strategy yields expansion of JPL and associated storage-diversion on an annual basis. Also, the outcomes of the analyses suggest that, while the conversion would have a positive impact on water availability, storing the return flow might not produce sufficient cost savings; unless higher prices were imposed on the stored-return flow.

Trinity River Authority of Texas Starts Move from Lime Treatment to Thermal Hydrolysis and Anaerobic Digestion

Trinity River Authority of Texas Starts Move from Lime Treatment to Thermal Hydrolysis and Anaerobic Digestion

Focused and Strategic Planning for Operations & Maintenance Excellence for Trinity River Authority of Texas

Focused and Strategic Planning for Operations & Maintenance Excellence for Trinity River Authority of Texas

Parks and Preservation Trees, Upsizing Challenge Pipe‐Bursting Project

Texas Trinity River Authority pushes pipe‐bursting limits, upsizing a 24‐in. reinforced concrete sewer pipe to 34‐in. PE 4710, and saves a precious landscape.

Trinity River Authority of Texas Alternative Procurement Through Pre-Construction Purchasing: Is It Right For You?

Trinity River Authority of Texas Alternative Procurement Through Pre-Construction Purchasing: Is It Right For You?

Trinity River Authority of Texas Out of Sight, Out of Time A Collaborative Approach for Emergency Repair

Trinity River Authority of Texas Out of Sight, Out of Time A Collaborative Approach for Emergency Repair

Trinity River Authority CYA: Conserve Your Assets Systematic Approach to Successful Plant Rehabilitation

Trinity River Authority CYA: Conserve Your Assets Systematic Approach to Successful Plant Rehabilitation

Anaerobic Digestion of Thermally Hydrolyzed Solids Offers Multiple Benefits at the Trinity River Authority Central Regional Wastewater System WWTP

Anaerobic Digestion of Thermally Hydrolyzed Solids Offers Multiple Benefits at the Trinity River Authority Central Regional Wastewater System WWTP

Development of a Comprehensive Collection System Sulfide and Corrosion Management Plan for Trinity River Authority of Texas

Development of a Comprehensive Collection System Sulfide and Corrosion Management Plan for Trinity River Authority of Texas

Large-Scale Oxygen Injection for Odor Control at Primary Clarifiers at the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The Trinity River Authority of Texas owns and operates the 162-MGD Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in Grand Prairie, Texas. The plant is an advanced secondary facility consistently producing nitrified effluent with BOD and TSS concentrations less than 5 mg/L each and an ammonia nitrogen concentration less than 0.5 mg/L. In addition to providing high quality effluent, the Authority is committed to being a good neighbor to the commercial, recreational, and residential areas surrounding the plant. As such, the Authority has committed significant funds and manpower to minimize the emission of odors from the plant. In projects spanning more than 20 years, the plant has eliminated or minimized emissions from major odor sources such as the preliminary treatment areas, influent junction boxes, primary clarifier weirs, and sludge processing areas. The plant eliminated use of its sludge-only landfill except for screenings and implemented beneficial reuse of all its sludge. The next phase of odor control would include the management of odors from aerated grit units and the quiescent areas of the primary clarifiers. Covering the primary clarifiers could involve literally acres of covers and the collection and treatment of well over 150,000 cfm of foul air. As an alternative to the covering of the primary clarifiers and collection and treatment of the air, the Authority, with Alan Plummer Associates, Inc., conducted “full-scale pilot studies” to investigate the feasibility of using pure oxygen for odor control. Pure oxygen has been used for odor control in pressure lines in collection systems and in receiving streams to boost oxygen concentrations during critical low-flow periods. Use of pure oxygen for odor control at a wastewater treatment plant, however, is a new application. Following the success of the pilot study, the Authority conducted a second bench-scale study to identify optimum dosage rates and injection points. This study identified the reaction rate of sulfide oxidation for the wastewater stream and provided a basis of design. The system began operation in June 2007. Following startup, the Authority conducted performance testing to identify the reduction in hydrogen sulfide, reduced sulfide, total odor (dilution to threshold) and other parameters.

Recovering from Hurricane Rita at Lake Livingston Dam

On September 24, 2005, incredibly powerful winds on the dry side of Hurricane Rita caused a combination of surge and waves that damaged approximately 11,000 feet of the rip rap that provides upstream slope protection on the 13,480 foot long Lake Livingston Dam, north of Houston, owned and operated by the Trinity River Authority of Texas (TRA). Lake Livingston Project staff, responding immediately to the crisis, worked night and day during and after the storm to minimize further damage and initiate repairs. Quick funding, 75% by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and 25% by the City of Houston, combined with efficient work by TRA management, land surveyors, engineers, and the contractor, resulted in remarkably fast repair of the dam. This presentation documents the steps taken to move from the hurricane damaged dam back to full service within 7 months of the hurricane’s landfall.

Bioscrubbers Achieve Performance Goals at TRA Central Wastewater Treatment Plant

Bioscrubbers Achieve Performance Goals at TRA Central Wastewater Treatment PlantIn the last year, the Trinity River Authority has installed two bioscrubbers at its Central Regional Wastewater System Wastewater Treatment Plant. One treats foul air from a gravity thickener supernatant pump station; the other treats a unique foul air stream from a combined sludge stripping/conditioning tank. Both scrubbers have performed well despite H2S loads considerably higher than originally...Author(s)Mark A. PerkinsMichael S. WoolseyJames S. McMillenSourceProceedings of the Water Environment FederationSubjectSession 10 Innovative and Alternative TechnologiesDocument typeConference PaperPublisherWater Environment FederationPrint publication date Jan, 2002ISSN1938-6478SICI1938-6478(20020101)2002:5L.885;1-DOI10.2175/193864702785140069Volume / Issue2002 / 5Content sourceOdors and Air Pollutants ConferenceFirst / last page(s)885 - 896Copyright2002Word count99