Common Challenges in Wastewater Treatment and How to Overcome Them
Outdated equipment, compliance demands, and staffing questions have solutions
Wastewater treatment is critical for protecting water quality in waterways and groundwater, supporting the ecological integrity of aquatic systems, and ensuring public health. While wastewater treatment is essential for protecting the environment and the public, the industry does face challenges. We will look at some of the most common ones, along with some practical solutions to overcome them.
Aging Infrastructure
The challenge: Most wastewater treatment plants are designed to last 40 to 50 years. While sewer pipes can last much longer, the treatment plant must be upgraded when it nears the 50-year mark to ensure it continues to operate efficiently. As wastewater treatment plants across the United States have reached that point, they are operating with outdated equipment, resulting in inefficient treatment, increased maintenance requirements, and a greater risk of system failures and service disruptions.
The solutions: There are several strategies municipalities can implement to overcome this challenge. Upgrading or retrofitting an existing wastewater treatment plant by incorporating more efficient treatment technologies can improve efficiency and extend the lifespan of the plant.
Modern treatment technologies have evolved to cope with emerging pollutants, ensuring that effluent meets increasingly stringent water quality standards. The lifespan of infrastructure can be extended by following a regular maintenance schedule. This ensures that the plant runs optimally and can prevent downtime and costly repairs.
Municipalities can also consider implementing modular and decentralized solutions. For example, modular systems can be added to aging centralized systems to increase capacity or efficiency, while decentralized treatment solutions located at the point of use can ease pressure on centralized systems that are operating beyond their capacity.
Rising Regulatory Compliance Demands
The challenge: As recent advancements now make it easier to detect and remove emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Environmental Protection Agency and local regulators are enforcing stricter water quality standards that require wastewater treatment facilities to meet more stringent discharge limits. This often requires significant investment in upgrades to treatment processes.
The solutions: To remain compliant with ever-changing regulations, wastewater treatment facilities need to stay informed through industry organizations and government updates. Essential for compliance are using advanced treatment technologies, such as membrane bioreactors (MBRs), that use a combination of microorganisms and membranes to produce high-quality effluent suitable for reuse. Also essential are nutrient removal systems that ensure nutrient levels meet new water quality limits.
For wastewater treatment plants without the technical know-how, it can be challenging to remain compliant. Working with experienced and knowledgeable water treatment providers can help overcome this challenge, ensuring compliance with stricter standards and avoiding costly penalties.
Lack of Necessary Funds to Build and Operate
The challenge: Lack of funding to upgrade plants.
The solutions: While funding may seem like an insurmountable hurdle, there are several options available. One solution is to lease plants or plant equipment. With an AUC lease agreement, everything inside the fence, including the fence itself, can be leased. This gives municipalities access to modern plants and advanced treatment technologies, including water reuse, without having to invest significant capital.
Municipalities can also save by implementing scaled installations. The modular and scalable design of AUC’s package wastewater treatment systems allows municipalities to start with a small system and add modules as capacity requirements increase. This keeps the cost low initially and offers the flexibility to expand the plant should the community grow and more capacity be required.
Workforce Shortages and Skills Gaps
The challenge: There is a shortage of skilled operators because of retirements and a lack of new professionals entering the field. It is estimated that between 30% and 50% of current skilled employees are nearing retirement age and there are not enough younger workers to replace them. With a shrinking workforce, treatment facilities often struggle to find skilled operators.
The solutions: Municipalities can invest in training programs and continuing education for their operators. This allows unskilled workers to benefit from training by increasing their skill levels. Wastewater treatment plants can also incorporate automation and remote monitoring technologies to reduce the amount of hands-on input required. These technologies can help improve efficiency while taking the pressure off workers, freeing them to concentrate on more pressing functions within the plant.
Another option is to outsource operations to a team of wastewater treatment specialists. AUC’s Build-Own-Operate (BOO) contracts give municipalities access to state-of-the-art wastewater treatment technologies managed by a professional team with years of experience in the industry. Our experts take care of everything from the financing to the design, construction, and operation of the plant, with no upfront capital investment required. The customer pays a regular bill for the volume of water treated.
Increasing Demand for Water Reuse and Sustainability
The challenge: With water scarcity becoming more common, there is an increasing need to incorporate sustainable treatment practices such as recycling treated wastewater for reuse in nonpotable applications like irrigation, cooling, and dust suppression. However, while a centralized plant is capable of treating large volumes of water, often it is unable to return the treated water to where it is needed most because of the cost associated with distributing it.
The solutions: Incorporating advanced filtration and disinfection technologies into decentralized wastewater treatment systems located at or near the point of use allows wastewater to be treated and reused locally. This supports sustainability by conserving and protecting freshwater sources, taking the pressure off water supplies, and preventing pollution of aquatic systems.
While wastewater treatment is not without challenges, there are ready solutions. Wastewater treatment managers can embrace modern solutions that have been designed to solve these common problems.
Contact AUC Group to find out how our Lease Plant Program, BOO contracts, and decentralized wastewater treatment solutions can help overcome common challenges such as budget constraints, aging infrastructure, staff shortages, and compliance while supporting the sustainable use of water resources.
