Case Study: Wastewater Treatment Plant Eliminates Pipe Failures From Pneumatic Conveying Line

Robert Forgione, P.E. and his team at the Upper Occoquan Water Reclamation Plant in Centreville, Virginia were wading through yet another dust cloud to cleanup yet another pile of dry pebble lime and dust that had leaked from a failed elbow in the conveying line. While the hole measured a mere 1/2-inch across, it was large enough to spew the abrasive powder billowing all over the building until the high pressure conveying system could be shut down. The elbow failure created a hazardous slip and fall situation, threatened acceptable air quality levels, and put sensitive electronic controls at risk. Although it would be feasible to recover from a single leak like this one, Forgione was responsible for elbows that failed and leaked every six months. "We had to fix this situation," said Forgione, the director of the operations and maintenance division for the Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority (UOSA).