Headworks Screens Withstands Major Flooding Conditions In Mill Creek WWTP, Cincinnati

Purportedly the largest bar screens in the United States, the Headworks two (2) Mahr Bar screens, almost 70 feet in overall length, is installed in Mill Creek WWTP in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Mill Creek wastewater treatment plant is on a combined sewer system. It typically encounters high flows, and large solid loads during peak rain events. Before installing their current bar screens, the plant faced problems with high maintenance and blinding that resulted in by-passing during high flow periods. These problems were a direct result of the old “climber type” screens that were used for pump protection. After facing multiple problems, the plant authorities decided to search for more efficient, low maintenance screens.

After visiting Headworks installations in Austria, consulting firm, CH2 M Hill (BBS corporation at the time), and the Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD), decided that installing the Headworks® Bar Screen would greatly benefit the Mill Creek facility. MSD had three main reasons for selecting the Headworks® Bar Screen.

First, installing robust, corrosion-resistant, more reliable bar screens would provide a higher degree of protection for their main pumps. Secondly, the Headworks® Bar Screen with fine 3/8” openings obviates the need for separate fine screens thereby lowering both capital and O&M costs. Lastly, MSD wanted to eliminate bypassing the headworks at high flows, which was commonplace with their previous screens. In CSO applications such as this, the Headworks® Bar Screen is uniquely designed to not only handle both the fine and coarse screening in one step, but also to automatically increase the cleaning cycle to every 5 seconds at high flows.