Replacement Vacuum Feeders For Hypo Treatment End Heavy Feeder Maintenance Burden At WWTP

By Cliff Lebowitz

The instrumentation supervisor for the City of Baltimore, MD’s 150-MGD Back River wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) reports that replacement of problematic vacuum feeders with more advanced vacuum feed units has ended heavy maintenance burdens associated with sodium hypochlorite (hypo) treatment of plant effluent.

“There were too many pieces that could go wrong, and then there were too many meetings with operations and maintenance staff complaining they couldn’t get replacement parts,” said Prim Rambissoon, who is also responsible for instrumentation at 12 pumping stations and 15 metering stations. “I’m glad we switched to the more advanced vacuum feed units, which we started installing a year ago, and which have yet to require a maintenance call.”