Austin, USA Plans $55.33 Million Upgrade of Sludge Treatment Facilities

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, Austin Water in Texas, USA, submitted two renovation project contracts for review for the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Treatment Plant, proposing that Matous Construction of the United States undertake the construction, with a combined maximum contract amount of $55.3267 million. Among them, the contract ceiling for the sludge pretreatment facility renovation is $22.4202 million, and the contract ceiling for the ammonia nitrogen treatment facility renovation is $32.9065 million. The relevant proposals have been placed on the agenda of the Austin Water and Wastewater Commission meeting and are scheduled to be submitted to the City Council for review on November 19.

The sludge pretreatment project will replace the existing front-end treatment facilities as a whole, add a sludge receiving station, and update screening equipment and key electrical systems. The renovation focuses on expanding feed screening capacity, adding odor control facilities, and replacing screens and electrical equipment that have exceeded their service life. The facility is responsible for receiving sludge generated by Austin's two regional wastewater treatment plants and is the front-end link for subsequent thickening, anaerobic digestion, dewatering, and composting. The construction contract specifies a duration of 950 calendar days.

The ammonia nitrogen treatment project will build new deammonification and nitrogen treatment facilities, equipped with a complete deammonification system and vertical hyperbolic agitators, to strengthen the ammonia nitrogen removal capacity of the existing treatment process. At present, the plant mainly relies on sidestream water treatment facilities and pond systems to treat ammonia and nitrogen generated during sludge treatment. Once the new facilities are put into operation, they will share the treatment load of the existing pond system. The construction contract duration for this project is 660 calendar days, and the contract budget includes approximately $2.9915 million in construction contingency.

The Hornsby Bend Treatment Plant covers approximately 1,200 acres, stretches about 3.5 miles along the Colorado River, and is located about 8 miles east of downtown Austin. The plant receives sludge generated by two regional wastewater treatment plants and, after processes including thickening, anaerobic digestion, dewatering, and composting, processes the treated product into an organic soil amendment product called Dillo Dirt, which is used for urban green spaces and landscaping and is also sold to the public. The two renovations target the front-end screening capacity and the back-end ammonia nitrogen treatment link respectively, and the project funds have both been included in the Austin Water capital budget.