Central Clear Creek uses Alfa Laval MBR membranes
Clear Creek is a major water supply source for several municipalities in the Denver area. Water quality is a very significant issue. The Clear Creek plant, when Dewberry Engineers started working on it, was about 35 years old. When they did the process selection for Central Clear Creek, initially they were looking at a biological nutrient removal (BNR) plant. When they actually got around to implementing the plant, they had to redo the cost estimates over that intervening time, the cost of the membrane bioreactor (MBR) system had come down to the point. It was about the same as a BNR plant. Thus they changed their recommendation to go with the MBR, partly because they think it will be easier to run, and they certainly believe it will be more reliable.
DATE 2023-11-28
Customer's voice
The main benefit for the membrane bioreactor – there really are two in my mind. One is high quality effluent, consistently. No matter what happens with the influent, we’re going to get the same effluent quality. And the second major factor is reliability. We know we’re going to get that same quality – day in and day out, no matter what is happening upstream of it."
Mike Lutz, Dewberry Engineers
With the membrane bioreactor process – from the first day – the effluent’s noticeably better. BOD (biological oxygen demand) and total suspended solids are below the detection limit. That’s unusual. Normally, this facility would operate mid-twenty to low-thirty milligrams per liter for those two constituents. With a typical plant – I’d emphasize – it’s easier to maintain compliance and you can do so over a lot wider range of suspended solids content. I guess that’s one of the advantages to this process over the other ones we run as that there are less mechanical parts, which over time, translates to cost saving
because of low maintenance requirements."
Bob Clodfelter, Director of Operations for Treatment Technology
I’m very pleased with the Alfa Laval MBR product. I believe its innovative. The gravity flow aspects are compelling and its ease of use has been very well-received by the operators and the marketplace.
Charles Greaves, Water Technology Group