Gresham Smith to Design New Odor Control System for Bowling Green Municipal Utilities

10月 25, 2021

Gresham Smith is proud to announce that the firm has been selected by Bowling Green Municipal Utilities (BGMU) to design a new odor control system at the water recovery facility (WRF) in Bowling Green, Kentucky to minimize exposure of fugitive odors for BGMU staff and the surrounding community.

“Controlling odors is one of the most important – and yet most challenging – aspects of wastewater treatment. Odors can be caused by a variety of offenders and are impacted by a number of conditions, including the weather,” said Craig Parker, P.E., senior vice president at Gresham Smith. “Thanks to our previous experience at BGMU’s water recovery facility, our team is confident that we will design a operationally efficient solution that will create a more pleasant environment for both workers and the neighboring community.”

The odor issues are primarily a result of anaerobic conditions in the sanitary sewer collection system and are most problematic at the headworks, according to a study performed by design subconsultant Webster Environmental Associates, Inc. The Gresham Smith team will replace the existing odor control system with a two-stage solution: a bioscrubber, which will use biological processes to degrade the problematic gases, and a carbon absorber, which will absorb any remaining pollutants. The project team will also increase the capacity of the headworks building’s ventilation system to conduct a minimum of twelve air changes per hour and add a supplemental fan to increase total ventilation. Combined, these solutions will treat the air before it’s discharged into the atmosphere.

The Gresham Smith project team will also rehabilitate portions of the influent conveyance channels that have been affected by the highly corrosive nature of the influent wastewater to restore integrity and prevent future corrosion.

This project is a continuation of Gresham Smith’s relationship with BGMU. The firm previously renovated and expanded BGMU’s water recovery facility to include a new influent pump station, septage receiving station, sequencing batch reactors, high efficiency turbo-compressor blowers, ultraviolet disinfection, and dewatering centrifuges. Gresham Smith also previously completed a regional wastewater facilities plan update for the organization.