Enhancing T.W. Moses Treatment Plant Efficiency

Enhancing T.W. Moses Treatment Plant Efficiency

Citizens Energy Group’s Southport Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (Southport AWTP) went through a capacity expansion to fulfill treatment capacity as committed in the Long Term Control Plan Consent Decree.  The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit regulates different wastewater constituent discharge concentration limits and seasonal limits of different parameters have been established for decades.

With intense heat during the summer months, the higher temperature of wastewater leads to a lower DO saturation concentration, presenting a challenge to meet effluent DO concentrations required by the NPDES permit. The senior design team will examine the field DO concentrations at the Southport AWTP; evaluate the hydraulic characteristics that influence DO, investigate measures to increase DO throughout the treatment processes; and identify potential cost effective improvements.

Senior Design Team update:
 
T.W. Moses Treatment Plant was constructed in the late 1970’s to purify raw source water taken from the Eagle Creek Reservoir and distribute it to nearby citizens in Indianapolis. The plant has a rated capacity of 18 million gallons per day and seasonal production demands ranging between 8 MGD to 24 MGD. Today the annual average cost to produce potable water and pump from this plant is $160 per million gallons. With the modifications to the existing equipment and additions of new equipment, the electrical usage and cost to treat water at the T.W. Moses Treatment Plant have increased. These modifications and additions did not consider the effects on the efficiency of the plant.
 
The teams' involvement is to determine energy inefficiencies at the water treatment plant and to make recommendations for improvements. The goal is to increase the rate of return on investments made to implement the improvements. All applicable federal, state, and local requirements will be considered throughout the design process.