RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center
About RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center
Wastewater Collection Service Area The City of Atlanta has three water reclamation centers with a combined treatment capacity of 222 million gallons per day (MGD); 188 MGD of wastewater is treated each day within City limits.
140
120
400
141
3
285
400 407
Long Island Creek RM Clayton
85 285
403
RM Clayton WRC 75
78
402
Proctor Creek
407 20
78
85 29 154
ATLANTA
Utoy Creek WRC
20 155
29
Utoy Creek
Intrenchment Creek 28 154
South River WRC
Camp Creek
6
19
407 285 East Area WQCF (former Intrenchment Creek WRC)
42
South River
92
407 14
14
285
75 139
Water Reclamation Center Water Reclamation Center (Outside City)
The RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center (RMC WRC) is situated just south of the junction of the Chattahoochee River and Peachtree Creek in northwest Atlanta. The RMC WRC receives wastewater flow from the Nancy Robert M Clayton Creek and Peachtree Creek Basins and has a restricted permitted capacity of 100 million gallons of water per day (MGD) and an actual capacity of 122 MGD. The reclamation center provides wastewater treatment for the City of Atlanta primarily north of Interstate 20, a portion of Sandy Springs and most of northern DeKalb County; and is named after Robert M. Clayton – City Enginee , (1879-1914). The RMC WRC receives wastewater from combined (stormwater and wastewater) and separate sanitary sewer basins through a network of gravity sewers and the Nancy Creek Tunnel (NCT), a deep rock storage and conveyance system. Wastewater from the NCT is pumped (lifted) approximately 180-feet to the collection box where it merges with wastewater from the gravity sewers and flows into the headworks of the RMC WRC, the beginning of the wastewater treatment process. Contaminants are removed from the wastewater during the treatment process. Subsequently, the treated water is returned to the Chattahoochee River at a higher quality than the raw water in the river. Construction of Atlanta’s sewer system began in the late 1800s. By 1880, there were 8 miles of stone, masonry and small pipe sewers ranging in size from 12-inches to 6-feet in diameter. In 1910, $1.35 million in bonds was issued to construct three sewage treatment plants: Proctor Creek, Peachtree Creek and Intrenchment Creek. Between 1935-1945, Utoy Creek, South River and RM Clayton were constructed, with Proctor and Peachtree Creek plants becoming decommissioned. Since its construction in 1935, the RMC WRC has been the largest plant that provides wastewater treatment to the City of Atlanta. The RMC WRC has undergone multiple upgrades and expansions over the past 80+ years. In 2000, a significant expansion was completed that increased the RMC WRC capacity to 122 MGD and updated odor control measures and phosphorus removal. It also featured a new headworks facility, ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection, new office and laboratory space, renovations to the existing buildings and extensive landscaping. Included in the phosphorus removal facilities were ten 150-foot diameter secondary clarifiers, an effluent filter and a 330 MGD pump station. At its completion in 2000, the UV facility was one of the largest in the United States. Throughout the upgrades and expansion, the existing WRC remained operational. In 2009, a 500-year flood event occurred where the RMC WRC sustained extensive damage. Major repairs to damaged equipment and structures were completed in 2011.
RM Clayton WRC Headworks Improvement Project
In 2018, two projects were completed at the RMC WRC: the Headworks Improvement Project and the Sand Filter Refurbishment Project. The $56 headworks project included enhanced screening and grit removal units to reduce negative effects to the downstream wastewater treatment processes and improved operational reliability, which avoided violations of the City’s wastewater discharge permit. The project also included the addition of new bar screens to remove large debris, new grit removal units to remove coarse sand, gravel and other large inactive materials, a back-up grit system to provide additional removal during heavy rains and a new odor control facility. The $7 Sand Filter Refurbishment Project included changing 22 deep bed filters, refurbishing or renovating the underdrain system and repairing equipment associated with the automatic operation of the tertiary filtration system. These renovations were necessary due to 20+ years of continuous service, with the filters taking in extra solids at rates and durations that caused long-term issues. These improvements helped meet compliance requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. In addition, the RM Clayton WRC is part of the $77.9 Noresco Guaranteed Energy Savings Performance Contract, which is three energy conservation measures for the RMC WRC and overall water distribution system that will realize a total savings of $5.2 . This project includes construction of a biosolids dryer system that will take sludge from the centrifuges (machines that separate fluids, gas and liquids based on density) and convert it to a material that is suitable as a soil supplement. This project will substantially reduce the current practice of moving wet sludge to landfills and reliance on an old incinerator system at the WRC. This project is scheduled for completion in November 2020. The RMC WRC was recognized in 201 by the Design-Build Institute of America for a National Award of Excellence in Water/Wastewater. The effective use of design-build techniques helped streamline and accelerate completion of upgrades despite unforeseen subsurface delays of five months that required a complex combination of rock bolting, soil nails and tie-backs in the 40-foot excavation. Us a design-build enabled early procurement of specialized equipment, ongoing constructability reviews and timely decision-making.
RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center Treatment Process
Nan cy C ree k Tu nne l
BAR SCREENS
PRIMARY CLARIFIER
AERATION BASINS
Filter out rags, sticks and other large items.
Allows heavier particles to settle; and oils, grease and lighter particles to float.
Air is pumped through the wastewater to promote microorganism growth. The bugs “eat” the particles left after primary clarification.
Headworks Bar screens (x4) Grit removal tanks (x4) Drum screens (x3)
Primary Sludge Scum Aeration Basins (x14)
Primary Clarifier (x8)
Primary Sludge
Coal
Grit & Trash to Landfill
Sand Gravel
Post Aeration Basins (x2)
Secondary Clarifiers (x10)
Effluent Filtration Basins (x22)
POST AERATION
UV DISINFECTION
EFFLUENT FILTRATION BASINS
Ensures that an adequate amount of dissolved oxygen is in the effluent prior to discharge into the river.
Ultraviolet light which kills disease-causing organisms.
Removes any final particles left after secondary clarification.
Waste Activated Sludge
Chattahoochee River
UV Disinfection Units (x4)
Incineration (x2)
Sludge to Landfill
Thickening Centrifuges (x3)
Dewatering Centrifuges (x4)
Anaerobic Digesters (x4)
RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center Treatment Process The RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center (RMC WRC), located on Bolton Road in northwest Atlanta, GA, provides wastewater treatment for the City of Atlanta primarily north of Interstate 20, a portion of Sandy Springs and most of northern DeKalb County. The RMC WRC is permitted to discharge 100 million gallons per day (MGD) of treated wastewater to the Chattahoochee River. The WRC uses primary, secondary and tertiary processes for treating wastewater. At the primary stage, wastewater from the RM Clayton service area passes through mechanical bar screens, fine mesh rotatory drum screens and vortex grit collectors (also known as headworks) to remove trash, sand, rocks and other items that can damage the downstream treatment equipment. The screened wastewater flows into eight 12-foot-deep primary clarifiers where a chemical, ferric chloride, is added to help remove phosphorus. At this stage, settled and floating solids are removed from the wastewater. In secondary treatment, wastewater from the primary clarifiers flows into 14 aeration basins/biological nutri-ent removal tanks (BNR), where a biological treatment called the activated sludge process occurs. Sludge is a thick, soft substance with a mud-like consistency, and activated sludge is used to remove pollutants from wastewater by a biological reaction involving oxygen. The aeration basins are equipped with a fine bubble aeration system which provides an environment for microorganisms (referred to as bugs) to thrive and multiply. These bugs “eat” the organic waste in the wastewater and once the food/waste is gone, the treated water flows into the 10 secondary clarifiers. At this stage, the activated sludge is removed from the wastewater using suction type sludge collection mechanisms. For tertiary treatment, the treated water is sent through 22 deep bed granular media effluent filters to remove floating solids and remaining phosphorus from the wastewater. The granular media filters are made up of a mixture of coal, sand and gravel, and layers are typically 2-6 ft deep. After filtration, a chemical polymer is added to cause any remaining floating solids to clump together. The filtered water is then disinfected with ultraviolet (UV) radiation to reduce disease-causing organisms and prepare the treated water for discharge into the Chattahoochee River. More oxygen is added to the treated water in a post aeration process, which ensures that an adequate amount of dissolved oxygen is present in the treated water before it enters the river.
In addition to treating wastewater, the RMC WRC treats solid waste. The trash collected from the headworks during the primary process is hauled to a landfill. The sludge from the primary clarifiers, foam (scum) from the biological nutrient removal tanks and sludge from the secondary clarifiers are sent to three thickening centrifuges. The centrifuges employ a high-speed process that uses the force from rapid rotation of a cylindrical bowl to separate wastewater solids (sludge) from liquid, causing them to thicken. The thickened sludge is then transferred to four anaerobic digestors. The digestion process stabilizes the sludge and reduces the volatile solids and pathogens by using anaerobic (without oxygen) microorganisms (bugs) to convert organic matter into carbon dioxide, methane, water, and non-degradable solids. From the anaerobic digesters, sludge is sent to four dewatering centrifuges. The dewatering removes more water and produces a drier material referred to as “cake”. The sludge “cake” is partially incinerated, and the remaining dewatered sludge is hauled to a landfill.
Fun Facts
Awards Instrumentation and Controls Reliability Restoration Project
Atlanta has approximately miles of sewer lines in the wastewater system
2,150
Atlanta has approximately manholes in the wastewater system
47,327
The newly installed Nutrient Recovery System will result in an immediate payback of per day net savings to the City
$2,500
188M
Approximately gallons of wastewater is treated each day at three water reclamation centers
Innovations
There are approximately retail wastewater services accounts
94,000 To meet regulatory limits on nutrient discharges, the RMC WRC recently had a nutrient recovery facility installed under a design-build agreement and financed through a unique operating lease model. Excess nutrients such as phosphorus in waterways cause algae to grow and bloom, creating toxic conditions that destroy aquatic life and limit recreation in lakes and rivers. Phosphorus is considered a major contributor to nutrient pollution, entering bodies of water from numerous sources including urban water treatment facilities. The nutrient recovery process can recover 80 percent or more of the phosphorus and up to 15 percent of the ammonia-nitrogen from wastewater streams before accumulating in pipes and equipment. The RMC WRC nutrient recovery system is housed in a new solar-roofed building that will convert recovered nutrients to continuous release fertilizer with an installed production capacity of around 900 tons of fertilizer per year. Through a long-term fertilizer purchase agreement, the City of Atlanta will receive revenue for every ton of fertilizer produced.
2020 Build Georgia Award Program
Tours One-hour guided, walking tours are offered at the RM Clayton WRC that provide guests a behind-the scenes look at the wastewater treatment process, the plant’s unique story, and how wastewater travels through the facility and is discharged into the Chattahoochee River Contact our office to schedule a tour today! Time Slots Monday and Wednesday 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Please email us at dwmcommunications@atlantaga.gov. Include the following information in your email: Name of school/program/organization, contact person name and phone number, tour date, tour time, name of plant to be toured.
RM Clayton WRC Headworks Project • AGC 2019 Marvin Black Partnering Award • ACEC 2019 Honor Award • DBIA-SE 2019 Design Design-Build Excellence Award • DBIA 2019 Leadership Design Design-Build Water/Wastewater
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Thinking about becoming a wastewater treatment plant operator? The State of Georgia requires the following for an operator to become certified: • Take and pass an exam that demonstrates that the applicant has the necessary skills, knowledge, ability and judgment as appropriate for the classification
DEPARTMENT OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
• Have a high school diploma or a general equivalency diploma (GED)
72 Marietta Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30303 Mon-Fri – 8:15 am to 5:00 pm atlantawatershed.org
• Have the defined minimum amount of on-the-job experience for each appropriate level of classification.