When Port Jefferson’s wastewater treatment facility was faced with more stringent Long Island Sound nitrogen pollutant loading, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works sought to increase the quality of the plant’s effluent while preserving as much of the existing plant infrastructure as possible.
H2M proposed a new sequencing batch reactor (SBR) that reused all of the plant’s existing process tanks. A multi-stage, absorption odor control system was provided for the thickened sludge storage tank, and the plant’s original chlorine disinfection system was replaced with an ultraviolet disinfection system. In addition, a new operations building was constructed to house control ancillary equipment such as: the sludge belt thickener; polymer feed and mixing system; air supply blowers; electrical motor control centers; and control panels.
The new facilities were designed into the site’s natural steep slopes to maximize the buffer distance to neighboring residences and to maintain the existing natural landscaping. The new process system discharges a superior-quality effluent with less than 4.0 mg/l total nitrogen, in accordance with the Long Island Sound Study requirements.
