Project
High-Volume Materials Recovery Facility
Stormwater treatment for a materials recovery facility that consistently struggled to meet permit benchmarks prior to the installation of a CWS treatment system
A 10-acre materials recovery facility in Tacoma, WA processes a wide range of recyclables, including single-stream materials, baled paper and plastics, and various paper grades. Despite implementing standard best management practices (BMPs), the facility continued to struggle with elevated turbidity and zinc levels in its stormwater runoff, preventing compliance with the Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP).
To resolve these issues, Clear Water Services partnered with an environmental engineering firm to design an active treatment system that could effectively remove sediment and metals from stormwater. The 310gpm M5 system incorporates chemical pretreatment, gravity settling, and chemically enhanced sand filtration (CESF).
Stormwater first flows into a sediment pond where it is pre-treated, then moved into an 18,000-gallon weir tank via submersible pumps. Water then decants into a 21,000-gallon storage tank for additional settling. After settling, the water is conveyed through a treatment train that includes dosing with coagulant and a 3-pod filtration skid filled with sand and gravel for final sediment and contaminant removal.
Since installation, the facility has consistently maintained compliance with permit benchmarks and successfully treated and discharged over 42 million gallons of stormwater to the City of Tacoma storm sewer system, providing reliable, long-term compliance for this high-traffic recycling operation.
The M5 is an all-inclusive treatment control unit, combining chemical injection, monitoring, and pump controls into one treatment controller.
Similar to the M3, the M5 uses a programmable logic controller (PLC) to monitor for pH, turbidity, and flow. The M5 also includes chemical metering pumps to automatically dose incoming water for a variety of contaminants.
The M5 has the capability to regulate pumps, monitor tank levels, and provide automated treatment operations with remote controls and automated data logging, lending itself to a range of applications across industries.
Clear Water Services offers many adsorptive (and ion-exchange) mixed media filtration options and equipment to remove just about any contaminant from water or air. Our adsorptive multi-media filtration options treat water for heavy metals, hydrocarbons, VOCs, PFAS, PCBs, nutrients, microbes, pesticides/herbicides, and others.
Our team of experts can evaluate historical water characteristics, site constraints, and performance goals, and run bench/pilot tests to determine the best media for the job. Alternatively, we can simply supply the media and equipment per specification. Our equipment options include both gravity drain (passive) and pressurized (active) options, that can act as stand-alone treatment or as a final polishing step based on the application.
