PERFORMANCE PROFILE
Lake Ozark/Osage Beach, Missouri
1: INITIAL OPERATIONS CHALLENGES
1: Initial Operations Challenges
-
Dispose of an excess inventory of waste
biosolids which had been stored in one of the system's aeration
basins. - Bring deteriorated mechanical equipment back up to serviceable condition.
- Effective operation of a biological wastewater treatment plant which serves one of the state's most popular resort areas and receives seasonal flow variations greater than 100%.
2: Project Background
Alliance was selected to provide contract
operation and maintenance of the Lake Ozark/Osage Beach
Joint
Wastewater Treatment Plant in a competitive procurement process
in early 1999. The treatment facility is a 2.4 mgd regional
treatment plant that serves the resort cities of Lake Ozark
and Osage Beach, as well as nearby unincorporated areas.
The
facility is owned and administered by a joint utility board
of directors consisting of four municipal representatives
from each of the two cities.
The treatment plant is the primary public wastewater treatment facility serving the entire Lake of the Ozarks area. While it primarily serves partner cities, much consideration is being given to the expansion of service to other communities in the area, and to additional unincorporated areas in order to protect water quality in the large Lake of the Ozarks.
- Alliance recruited and trained a highly qualified operations and maintenance staff to replace the personnel of its predecessor contract firm.
- Alliance has initiated an aggressive asset maintenance and management program to restore failing mechanical equipment, and at no additional cost provided all the labor and technical expertise necessary to rehabilitate return activated sludge pumps and automatic bar screens.
- Alliance has furnished a variety of ancillary support services to the joint board, such as a comprehensive Y2K program and grant procurement services, all at no additional charge.
- Alliance consistently accommodates the system's unusual seasonal flow variations and produces exceptional effluent water quality with BODs and TSS concentrations which are typically under 5 mg/l.
- An aeration basin had been adopted for excess sludge overflow storage. In 2004, Alliance addressed the sludge surplus issue then reclaimed the aeration basin for its original use. Mixed liquors in each of the facility’s aeration basins have remained below 5000 mg/L.
- Ongoing maintenance is now managed by a computerized maintenance work order program.
- Waste biosolids management was a major concern for the joint board. Alliance implemented an aggressive land application program, productively recycling over 1.5 million gallons per year on area farm fields. In 2004 and 2005, 1336 tanker loads (4,943,200 gallons) of biosolids have been applied to local farm fields. Hiring a separate contract hauler to perform this service would cost in excess of $100 per hour.
- The grit chamber system had been malfunctioning for some time before the Alliance contract. Because uncontrolled grit could cause costly maintenance issues throughout the rest of the wastewater equipment, Alliance made it a priority to put the grit system back into service. We were able to troubleshoot and make modifications in-house, saving the joint board in excess of $100,000 in replacement parts and installation costs.