WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING

All wastewater and sewage treatment plants require some level of maintenance to ensure that consent discharge requirements are met.  While any ancillary equipment, such as pumps and blowers, need to be functioning correctly, the smooth and effective running of all biological wastewater and sewage treatment system depends on the health and diversity of the plant biomass. In a stable situation, where a plant is receiving wastewater with a consistent composition and little or no toxicity, the microbial diversity will be optimised to degrade the constituent organics in question. In practice, however, most plants are receiving mixed wastewaters of varying composition and, in many cases, the constituents may have some level of inhibition to bacterial growth. As some species of bacteria are more sensitive than others, their growth patterns are more easily inhibited and in the event of a “toxic shock” many of the more vulnerable species may be killed off. The plant biomass that subsequently develops after plant recovery will then be lacking some of the species present in the previously optimised biomass, thereby reducing the efficiency of BOD and COD removal.

To assist clients in meeting their consent discharge limits, Microbac offers a biological treatment plant monitoring, maintenance and remediation service to provide optimum system performance. As well as checking the ancillary equipment, samples of biomass and influent and effluent wastewater are taken for analysis. The microscopic appearance of biological solids can be a valuable troubleshooting tool, giving important clues about what may have gone wrong with a plant. As changes in the biology of a plant occur (in response to adverse environmental variations) before there is any obvious physical evidence, regular microscopic analysis can be predictive, enabling some action to be taken before consent limits are exceeded.

In the event of plant failure, a suitable remedial program will be established and implemented by Microbac’s experienced wastewater engineers. In situations where the population diversity of a plant biomass has been adversely affected, the balance can be rapidly re-established using Microbac’s adapted biological cultures.

Microbac’s technical staff will also provide operation and maintenance log books for documenting analytical results and logging information collated during general operation of the plant.