A decade after installation, De Nora – a global leader in the delivery of sustainable technologies – reports uninterrupted operation and successful biological nutrient removal at the Arlington County Water Pollution Control Bureau (WPCB). Since 2010, DE NORA TETRA Denite filter technology has effectively lowered nitrate, phosphorus and total suspended solids (TSS) from wastewater discharged into the Four Mile Run region of the Potomac River, improving water quality conditions of the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding environment.
“The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and the third largest in the world,” said De Nora CEO Dr. Mirka Wilderer. “Lakes, rivers and other estuaries around the country are directly impacted by its health. Since the project began in 2010, we’ve understood the gravity of the situation and felt honored the county entrusted the job to us. We are confident the facility will continue to operate efficiently, even during extreme weather events with increased flow.”
The project was included in a $568 million upgrade to the 75-year-old WPCB, which at the time had not been renovated since the early 1990s. A total of 17 DE NORA TETRA Denite filters were installed to meet anticipated nutrient regulations, including a total nitrate limit of approximately 3 mg/l with a concurrent low total phosphorous limit of 0.18 mg/l. The plant was one of the first major effluent denitrification facilities to achieve these benchmarks consistently and has received several accolades in response.
“De Nora filters were successful at bringing our total nitrogen concentration down to meet laws and regulations pertaining to nutrient permit loadings,” said Kacey King-McRae, Operations Specialist at WPCB. “The De Nora system is fully automated, requiring very little operator interaction. It’s the future of wastewater treatment.”
De Noa and WPCB will turn their firsthand experience into a webinar discussion on nutrient removal Thursday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. ET. Participants will be introduced to De Nora Product Technology Manager Stan Shmia, who alongside Kacey King-McRae will discuss trending topics in the wastewater industry, including regulations around denitrification and how to stay in compliance.
For more than 50 years, DE NORA TETRA DeepBed filtration technologies with Snap T® block underdrain filters have been polishing municipal wastewater effluent to reuse standards and/or regulatory discharge limits with minimal intervention. For potable water applications, De Nora ozone and biological filtration technologies are combined to provide advanced filtration, oxidizing micropollutants to treat contaminants of emerging concern while mitigating disinfection byproduct formation.
