Located in the eastern United States, the Chesapeake Bay basin covers more than 64,000 square miles and covers hundreds of thousands of large and small rivers and streams. Despite the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay, agricultural pollution, sewage treatment plants, and municipal sewage are important issues in the Bay Area and the basin. Thousands of sewage treatment plants in the region provide livelihoods for nearly 18 million Bay Area people.
In late 2010, the EPA introduced the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load, which specifies the maximum daily limits for allowed daily pollution in the Bay Area of nitrogen and phosphorus, a major source of nutrient pollution. It aims to ensure that by 2025, all pollution control measures needed to restore the Bay Area and its tidal river sections are finalized.
Now, ten years after installation, De Nora, a global leader in delivering sustainable technologies, reports on the uninterrupted operation and successful removal of bionutrients by the DE NORA TETRA® Denite® Filter Technology at the Arlington County Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCB) in the United States.
Since 2010, DE NORA TETRA® Denite® filter technology has effectively reduced nitrates, phosphorus, and total suspended solids (TSS) in the sewage discharged from the four-mile stretch of the Potomac River, improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding environment.
Dr. Mirka Wilderer, CEO of De Nora
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and the third largest in the world. Lakes, rivers and other estuaries across the country are directly affected by it. Since the project was launched in 2010, we have been well aware of the gravity of the situation and are honored that the prefectural government has entrusted this work to us. We are confident that our facilities will continue to operate efficiently, even in the event of extreme weather and increased traffic.
The project is part of a $568 million upgrade to the 75-year-old Water Pollution Control Authority, which has not been renovated since the early 1990s.
In order to comply with the expected nutritional regulations, including a total nitrate limit of approximately 3 mg/l and a total phosphorus limit of 0.18 mg/l, a total of 17 DE NORA TETRA® Denite® filters were installed. The plant was one of the first sewage treatment plants with major sewage denitrification facilities that consistently met these standards and received several accolades for it.
Kacey King-McRae, operations specialist at the Water Pollution Control Bureau
De Nora's filter technology has successfully reduced our total nitrogen concentration to meet nutrient emission limits. De Nora's system is fully automated and does not require any additional maintenance or routine intervention by field operators. This is the future of wastewater treatment.