Lagoon Aerator – Effective Water Treatment Solution

Venturi-Aerators reduce odours at AJ Bush HR_Cropped 09.06.21

Wastewater Lagoon Aeration

Converting surface aerators to Venturi Lagoon Aerators

By changing from unreliable surface aerators to Venturi Aerators for lagoon treatment, costs were reduced and the results were great!
  • Facultative Sanitary Wastewater Lagoon
  • Syracuse, NY
  • 1996
  • Municipal
  • Wastewater Treatment
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Lagoon Aeration

There are numerous methods of water aeration. Splashing surface aerators, draft tube floating aerators, revolving brush aerators, and various forms submersible aerators. All require the machines to operate on the water surface or below the surface of the water they are aerating. This requires maintenance crews to access them by crane, row boat or tether systems.

The Gorman-Rupp EchoStorm water aerator on the other hand, is bank mounted. It uses a self-priming pump to draw water from the lagoon, then pumps it at pressure through the EchoStorm water aerator, and feeds it back into the lagoon, saturated with dissolved oxygen. Operators have easy access for maintenance, making these systems safer and easier to maintain, and because of this, greatly lengthen the time between major repairs and greatly increase service life.

Project Background

In September 1996, Dick Wood, of On-Site Services, installed units of the EchoStorm Lagoon Aerator Wastewater Oxygenator and Conditioner system into an existing facultative wastewater lagoon system consisting of a two-stage treatment system, a primary lagoon (~950,000 litres) and a polishing lagoon (~400,000 litres). These two lagoons accepted the sanitary wastewater from 115 mobile home units in suburban Syracuse, NY.

Prior to the installation of the EchoStorm Lagoon Aerator units, Mr. Wood had been treating the two lagoons with ProBiotic products for the assimilation of a 20-year sludge build-up including grease. The lagoons had been aerated with two (2) 3.7kW surface aerators (one in each lagoon). While Mr. Wood had experienced some success in prior years in controlling hydrogen sulfide odours emitted from the anaerobic bacterial activity, over time a sludge blanket began to develop in the corners of the lagoon and along its banks. The sludge blanket became so well established that there were zones of sludge that were not being treated by the surface aerators and hydrogen sulfide odours returned. These areas were not influenced by the agitation of the surface aerators, and it grew to a point where there was a defined “radius of influence” that only extended 10 feet from the center of the surface aerator.

In the Spring of 1996, Mr. Wood reported that the sludge blanket in the primary lagoon was still substantial in depth and the corners of the lagoon exhibited significant concentrations of both settled and floating sludge. Due to frequent failures of the two surface aerators (over 10 years old), the owner was unable to maintain an aerobic zone on the lagoon surface, and residents filed numerous odor complaints with the local office of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The NYDEC issued a Consent Order to the owner to take immediate action to abate the odours.

Within 1 day, the hydrogen sulfide odours were completely eliminated by the newly installed lagoon aerator!

The Solution – Bank Mounted Lagoon Aerator

Mr. Wood installed a multiple EchoStorm Aerator Oxygenator and Conditioner system consisting of:

  1. one (1) model VA-100 Venturi Aerator (a 6 L/s unit) for the polishing lagoon,
  2. one (1) model VA-250 Venturi Aerator (a 16 L/s unit) for the primary lagoon, and
  3. one (1) 11kW Gorman-Rupp T4 self-priming sewage pump to power both Venturi Aerator units.

These two Venturi Aerator units were installed with the pump located on the dike between the two lagoons. A suction intake line was manifolded into one suction intake line into the Gorman-Rupp pump, and the discharge was split between the two Venturi Aerator units, one in each lagoon. This configuration provided bottom to top turnover of the contents of the lagoon, pulled solids off the bottom for resuspension and digestion. Further, the kinetic energy of the Venturi Aerator was able to start spinning the “entire” sludge blanket with two hours of startup. The continued discharge from the Venturi Aerators began to break apart the spinning sludge blanket as it passed directly under the discharged liquids.

Previously when the old surface aerators failed the operator had to get into a rowboat and release the tether and pull the floating surface aerator to shore for repairs. With the EchoStorm lagoon aerators located on the bank of the lagoon, this eliminated the risk of the boat flipping over during cold winter months when there was ice on the surface of the lagoon.

The Results

  1. Within 1 day, the hydrogen sulfide odours being previously emitted were completely eliminated.
  2. Within 1 week, the blackened, anoxic waters changed to light brown in coloration (this change in coloration is indicative of active aerobic digestive activity), and
  3. Within 2 weeks, the previously reported sludge impacted corners of the primary lagoon had been decimated by the increase in aerobic bacterial activity to the point that no discernible sludge could be seen or removed from these areas.

Note: This case study was the basis for a presentation at a conference of ProBiotic Distributors and Sales Representatives held in Phoenix, Arizona delivered on January 17, 1997 by Mr. Gary Smith

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The Lagoon Aerators

Gorman-Rupp offers a range of products to meet the aeration needs of multiple industries including; municipal wastewater treatment, industrial wastewater treatment and potable water treatment. These products are of high quality and are relied upon by industry leaders around the world.

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The EchoStorm water aerator from Gorman-Rupp offers the benefits of safety, reliability and ease of access to water aeration applications.

Because these units are mounted on the bank [instead of floating on the water or being submerged in it], access is much less complicated and safer, while delivering oxygen transfer outcomes.

The EchoStorm water aerator benefits::

  • No cranes or row boats for maintenance
  • Easily accessed
  • Less downtime
  • Reliable and easy to maintain
  • Easily scalable and low cost of ownership
  • Thorough mixing – no dead spots
  • High SOTR (Standard Oxygen Transfer rate)
  • Oxygenated water

These aeration units are used in conjunction with Gorman Rupp self-priming centrifugal pumps to deliver solutions for the following applications:

  • Lagoon and basin water aerator
  • Oxidation ditch aeration
  • Lake destratification and algae control
  • Odour control
  • Sludge digestion
  • Septage treatment

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The Gorman-Rupp Super T Series self-priming centrifugal wastewater/sewage pump has been the world benchmark for this technology since 1963 (>50 years). They have been designed for economical, trouble-free operation, with superior solids handling capability and a large inspection cover to access pump internals for service or blockage removal.

Advantages include:

  • Self-Priming pump has the ability to mount high and dry above the wet well (not in it)
  • Low cost of ownership
  • Greatly reduced OH&S issues – no more working over water/heights/cranes/heavy swinging weights
  • Surface-mounted pumps with easy access for monitoring or service
  • Advanced safety features including pressure relief valve to protect operators
  • Improved maintenance features to greatly reduce maintenance time and costs, with removable rotating assembly
  • A variety of materials of construction to handle abrasive and/or corrosive fluids

Our Team is available to answer your pump query within the hour

Hydro’s experts are standing by to help you get the best pump, aerators and genuine spare parts for your specific project.

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Hydro Innovations is proud to distribute a broad range of quality, reliable and industry-leading industrial pumps and aerators.

We are also delighted to share that Hydro Innovations is proud to be the exclusive distributor of Gorman-Rupp Pumps.

Gorman-Rupp is the world leader in self-priming centrifugal wastewater pump technology, and invests heavily in R&D, and in training for their international representatives – like Hydro Innovations.

This puts us in an excellent position to make the very best recommendations for our Australian customers.

Our other suppliers, Ragazzini of Italy and EDUR of Germany, are also world leaders in their respective technologies (Peristaltic Pumps – Ragazzini, and Specialist centrifugal pumps – EDUR).

We carry a very large inventory of pumps and spare parts for all of these brands, to help us to deliver industry-leading service.