The City of Jackson, Mississippi’s Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant became operational in October 2014. The upgraded wastewater treatment facility meets current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements and is capable of satisfying future regulatory concerns.

Beginning about 2009, a number of violations of the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant’s NPDES Permit occurred.   Subsequently, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) issued an Administrative Order requiring the City to either upgrade the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant to meet NPDES permit requirements or cease discharging from the facility. Cessation of discharging from the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant would have required pumping wastewater an excessive distance to an alternate wastewater treatment plant. In November 2012, the City of Jackson agreed to make improvements to the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant that would bring the facility into compliance with its NPDES permit requirements. SOL Engineering Services, LLC (SOL) was selected as the prime consultant leading a team responsible for providing, engineering design, and construction administration services for a new $7.0 million wastewater treatment facility.

Various upgrade alternatives were considered and ultimately those alternatives identified as viable in meeting current discharge permit limits and capable of satisfying future regulatory concerns were evaluated in detail, including, cost and qualitative evaluation concerns. Five alternative treatment methods met this criteria. They included (1) Biological Aerated Filter (2) Moving Bed Bioreactor (3) Fixed Bed Bioreactor (4) Sequencing Batch Reactor and (5) Divert Wastewater to Savannah Street Plant.

Based on the cost and qualitative analysis, SOL and the City preceded with the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) alternative as the selected alternative to upgrade the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant. This alternative had the lowest total present worth cost, is highly flexible in meeting current NPDES permit discharge limits and future regulatory concerns, and has the ability to operate remotely.

The Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade was a 2-year project from commencement to completion. The new facility was constructed on the original site in order to take advantage of existing land resources.

 

The original Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed on an undeveloped 18.5 acre site in the

Presidential Hills subdivision in 1970, as a two cell lagoon complex. The new facility was constructed on this original site to take advantage of the existing land resources and outfitted with the latest in wastewater treatment technology.

The upgrade of the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant consisted of converting the existing plant to a wastewater treatment system utilizing a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). The SBR process consists of screening, the SBR Reactor, filtration, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. With this approach, the old Presidential Hills aerated lagoon wastewater facility was converted to a flow equalization basin and waste sludge storage.

The SBR is a suspended growth activated sludge process in which all processes take place in a single tank. The screened raw influent is mixed with suspended growth from the previous batch and aerated, intermittently, until treatment is complete. Once the treatment is complete, the mixing is stopped and the biomass is allowed to settle. Effluent from the SBR is sent to a new equalization tank and then to a new cloth media filter for final polishing prior to UV disinfection. Mixed liquor is periodically withdrawn from the tank to assure the mixed liquor suspended solids content remains in the appropriate range. The SBR treatment scheme is shown on the below schematic.

With the SBR alternative, the aerated lagoon was decommissioned from treatment and retrofitted to serve as an equalization basin. Influent flow is pumped to the new dual-train SBR for treatment and peak flows are pumped to the equalization basin and returned to the influent pump station when flow decreases. The existing polishing pond was converted to a sludge holding pond.

 

Waste activated sludge from the SBR is then pumped to the sludge holding pond with the decant returned to the influent pump station. Waste sludge is stored on site and for removal at a date to be determined and disposed of in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Prime consultant, SOL Engineering Services, LLC (SOL) was responsible for overall project design, management and delivery. SOL’s scope of services for this effort covered the following: site, grading, drainage, surveying, geotechnical engineering, road improvements, sewer system modifications, water system improvements, bid phase and construction administration services. SOL’s subconsultants CDM Smith, Inc., Gibson Engineering, Inc., Laird + Smithers, Inc., Southern Consultants, Inc., and Q Solutions, Inc. provided electrical engineering, process mechanical engineering, structural engineering, drafting and quality assurance services, respectively. Construction of the upgraded Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant was completed in October 2014.

The project played a significant role in the community well-being by:

  • Replacing the aerated lagoon with a more advanced treatment system that meets permitting requirements
  • Improving plant operations and maintenance efficiencies
  • Completion of the treatment plant representing tangible evidence of the City’s planned infrastructure improvements

SOL Engineering is privileged to present the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade project as an entrant in the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards and believes that it meets the requirements set by ACEC/Mississippi.

Original or innovative application of new or existing techniques:

  • The project’s design has the necessary flexibility to satisfy future regulatory and development requirements.
  • Predominantly computer operated, which results in greater O&M efficiencies

Future value to the engineering profession and perception by the public:

  • The completion of the Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade was significant to the City of Jackson’s infrastructure master plan, as expressed by Jackson’s Mayor: “We are near turning a corner on a master plan.”
  • From a public perspective, this completed project is important since it provides tangible evidence that Jackson is making progress on its’ enormous infrastructure needs.

Social, economic and sustainable design considerations:

  • The upgraded Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed on the original site in order to take advantage of existing land resources; thus, minimizing its impact on the environment.
  • The upgraded Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant SBR option provided the least cost, based on a present worth analysis including design, construction, and improved operation and maintenance efficiencies.
  • Adverse impacts to receiving streams are minimized because the facility now meets permit requirements.
  • The selected alternative is a conventional activated sludge system, requiring less operator attention than other considered alternatives.
  • The upgraded Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment SBR option has the least reliance on chemicals and the need to transport chemical to the plant.

Complexity:

  • The upgraded Treatment Plant is an activated sludge process with day to day operational control provided by the use of a SCADA system that allows plant operation with less direct operator attention.
  • The old Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed as an aerated lagoon system.

Exceeding client/owner needs:

  • The upgraded Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant meets current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements, and is capable of satisfying regulatory concerns. The facility has a capacity of 0.75 mgd with a current average daily flow of 0.3 mgd.
  • Praised by City Leaders (i.e., Mayor, City Council President, Director and Deputy Director of Public Works)
  • Completed within budget

SOL Engineering Services, LLC: 106 South President Street, 4th Floor • Jackson, MS 39201 (601) 961.1415 • www.solengrs.com

Contact: Scott Armstrong, P.E., PLS – sarmstrong@solengrs.com

SOL Engineering Services, LLC, a locally owned company, with over 13 years of overall design and project delivery

experience was selected as the the Prime Consultant for the new Presidential Hills Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Having played a pivotal role in reaching this important milestone, SOL Engineering Services provided the engineering

design, innovative cost-effective techniques, and economic impacts that provided environmental safety to the community.

SOL Engineering led a team that was responsible for providing planning, engineering, design and construction

administration services for the new $7.0 million wastewater treatment facility.

 

Laird + Smithers, Inc.: 219 North Lamar St. • Jackson, MS 39201 (601) 914.1547 • www.lairdsmithers.com

Contact: Jeff Laird, P.E. – jeff.laird@lairdsmithers.com

Laird + Smithers designed and provided structural and architectural engineering.

 

CDM Smith, Inc.: 8140 Walnut Hill Lane • Dallas, TX 75231 (214) 775.3211 • www.cdmsmith.com

Contact: Indira Petrovich, P.E. – petrovichis@cdmsmith.com

CDM Smith provided electrical engineering.

 

Gibson Engineering, Inc.: 210 East Capitol Street • Jackson, MS 39201 (601) 960.6440 • www.gibsonengineering.com

Contact: Phillip Gibson, P.E. – pgibson@gibsonengineering.com

Gibson Engineering was responsible for processing and mechanical engineering.

 

Southern Consultants, Inc.: 5740 County Cork Road • Jackson, MS 39206 (601) 957.0999 • www.sci@mscivilengineers.com

Contact: Jim Stewart, P.E., PLS – jstewart@mscivilengineers.com

Southern Consultants provided building interior and drafting services.

 

Q Solutions, Inc.: P.O. Box 888501 Atlanta, GA (770) 939.6500 • www.qsiworld.com

Contact: Kieu-Anh Tran, P.E., – ka.tram@qsiworld.com

Q Solutions was responsible for quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) for plans review.

 

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