Microbial Dosing Controls Odors In Florida Collection System

By: Dan Williamson

The city of Lakeland, FL, has been using a microbial dosing program to control odor from its collection system and treatment plant since 2001. The city recently signed a three-year contract extension with In-Pipe Technology Co. (IPTC) to continue the service that has also metabolized what would have been more than a 32% increase in organic plant loading over six years.

Odor control within a wastewater treatment system is critical to the quality of life in a community – citizens expect and demand odor-free neighborhoods. Odor is primarily associated with the production of hydrogen sulfide gas by sulfate-reducing bacteria under anaerobic conditions. Over the years Lakeland had unsuccessfully tried a variety of methods to solve odor problems.

In 2000 the city called In-Pipe. At that time there had been only targeted, periodic sampling of atmospheric hydrogen sulfide, and there was limited data to document H2S levels at any specific location. In fact, at that time a reliable instrument that could provide good data was not readily used in the industry. However, due to the complaints they received, city officials knew that the odor problem was system-wide and especially acute in neighborhoods around one particular cascading gravity line and one 3 mgd pumping station; one that was being replaced due to corrosion.

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