City of Alba, Texas, Installs New Wastewater Treatment System

The City of Alba, Texas, announced that it has completed installation of a wastewater treatment system to eliminate built-up organic sludge.

The Blue Frog System by Absolute Aeration LLC was installed Oct. 27 at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which comprises of two ponds. The proprietary technology, which is used in dozens of municipal applications nationwide, is expected to digest the built-up sludge in situ, thereby eliminating the need to dredge the sludge mechanically.

Currently, the city of Alba (estimated population: 504), located 80 miles east of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, uses a small-flow system comprised of an Imhoff Tank/lagoon combination system in its wastewater ponds, which have been steadily filling up with sludge. The city treats up to 0.08 million gal of wastewater daily. 

Andy Spicher, P.E., a managing partner of Hartwell Environmental Corp., introduced the Blue Frog System to Schaumburg & Polk Inc. (SPI) for consideration by the City of Alba’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. Hartwell represents leading manufacturers of water and wastewater treatment equipment used in municipal and industrial treatment facilities in the Texas and Oklahoma markets. The city and SPI had been seeking an alternative sustainable solution to eliminate mechanical dredging and to comply with their design discharge requirements.  

Spicher expressed confidence that cities like Alba that are dealing with sludge accumulation can reduce costs and improve their water quality by using the Blue Frog System.

“The city of Alba represents our firm's second Blue Frog System installation,” said Jeremy Buechter, P.E., Schaumburg & Polk Inc. “The first system in Cushing, Texas, has been meeting all our design discharge parameters while significantly decreasing odor issues at the site. We anticipate the same success for the city of Alba.”

The Blue Frog System can break the cycle of mechanical dredging and landfill costs that plagues many small municipalities in Texas and around the country. Absolute Aeration’s staff assists in overcoming regulatory and site-specific challenges for Blue Frog installations.  

Source: Absolute Aeration LLC