Michigan has had its share of septage problems. The biggest were illegal dumping; then where to dispose of the material as land application sites dwindle.
John Campbell, a landscape architect, began using biosolids as part of a long-range plan to re-vegetate mine reclamations in 1976. His company, Site Planning Development Inc. in Charlevoix, Mich., got into pumping after a client was dissatisfied with a pumping contractor.
Today, Site Planning services about 600 customers. Septage was land-applied or taken to the Charlevoix municipal plant until its concentrated strength disrupted the treatment process.
In 2002, when clients reported the illegal dumping they witnessed, Campbell joined the Septage Waste Disposal Committee to write a septage feasibility study. One proposed solution was independently owned small septage receiving stations.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Septage Program, which became law last October, cracked down on illegal dumping. It also required haulers whose trucks are within 15 miles of a sewage receiving facility to offload there.
Campbell believed pumpers needed more alternatives. In an epiphany, he looked at an onsite aerobic bacteria generating system and wondered if it could be used on a concentrated holding tank, portable restroom, and septic tank waste. With a cacophony of “that will never work” ringing in his ears, Campbell, 66, launched his second business.
Pumper: What was the germ that started Big Fish Environmental?
Campbell: In Nov. 2004, I saw the Pirana, an aerobic bacteria generating system developed to clean out biomats in septic tanks and drainfields. When I asked co-inventor Jerry Fife if his unit would work for septage, he replied, “I don’t know. Nobody has ever tried it.” That prompted me to propose a study.
We pumped a client’s tank on a day above freezing in January, and put the septage in a 1,500-gallon poly tank purchased for this purpose. I used an old pool heater and some propane to warm the septage a little, inserted the Pirana, and let it run for a week. We sampled the material before and after, and independent lab reports showed that the BOD, TSS, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia had been reduced. A month later, I had a building permit and a sketch of my 3,800-square foot, fully contained facility.
Pumper: How did you know what to include in the design of your plant?
Campbell: There was no book to follow, so I asked lots of questions and read voraciously. My sources for design assistance were Rick Prince and other professional engineers. To a man, they asked, “How do you know it will work?” When I told them about my little study, they shook their heads saying, “That won’t work.”
Pumper: Why were they so certain that your idea was doomed to fail?
Campbell: Because it went against all the principals of wastewater treatment, which is anaerobic, and this process is aerobic. Septage is minimally 100 times more concentrated than wastewater. We’re seeing it arrive at the plant 200 and 300 times more concentrated. At 100 times, 600,000 gallons of septage equals about 60 million gallons of wastewater.
I got to know Steve Young, a retired wastewater treatment plant operator. He sat in my shop one day discussing my idea. After hearing me out, Steve said, “John, I’ve been in this business 32 years, and there is no way what you are proposing is going to work.” I promptly hired him as my operations manager. If I could make a believer out of him, his endorsement of the process would be sincere.
Pumper: How did the MDEQ respond to your idea?
Campbell: After the building permit arrived, I brought them up to date with my plans. They said, “Sounds good, but you’ll have to prove that your idea works.”
I didn’t like the idea of waiting for reports from an outside lab to determine what to do next. We knew we had to take samples and test for phosphorus pH to give us an idea of what kind of material was involved. I wanted an onsite laboratory and Steve Young was the answer. He knew how to set up a lab to test for total suspended solids, total solids, biochemical oxygen demand, ammonia-nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen.
One of my Site Planning employees, Bill Sutherland, holds a two-year degree in wastewater lab work. He became our part-time lab technician and plant operator.
Pumper: What else did you consider when designing the plant?
Campbell: My initial objective for Big Fish was complete recycling. After years of land applying septage, I knew we needed a screen to separate the inorganics. I talked to different manufacturers and selected a Muffin Monster from JWC Environmental in Costa Mesa, Calif. Besides removing the inorganics, the unit homogenizes the septage.
Initially, one goal was to eliminate biosolids. We came close. We processed more than 600,000 gallons of septage at about 2.5 percent solids and sent 29,000 gallons of biosolids at 4 percent to the drying beds at the Charlevoix wastewater treatment facility. We applied for a land application permit from the MDEQ to dispose of those biosolids in agriculture.
Pumper: When did you start building the facility?
Campbell: March 2005. Our pump truck began delivering septage in August 2005. After receiving the MDEQ permit to contract with other pumpers, we opened the doors to Big Fish Environmental on Dec. 2, 2005.
Pumper: How does the treatment process work?
Campbell: We have two 15,000-gallon underground storage tanks. Septage passes through the Muffin Monster, then flows into a two-compartment 15,000-gallon equalization tank. Grit and larger solids settle out in the first compartment just like in a septic tank.
The second chamber blends the raw material with air and introduces the initial bacterial inoculation. When pumped to the treatment train, the slurry passes through one 15,000-gallon and eight 2,000-gallon treatment vessels that reduce solids by 95 percent.
The last step before discharging the treated effluent to the municipal collection system is the post-equalization tank. Solids not consumed in the treatment vessels settle out and are pumped back to the front of the plant for further treatment or to the biosolids holding tank. Effluent also can return to the equalization tank if additional blending material is needed.
Pumper: What problems did you encounter in getting the system to work?
Campbell: Septage is a condensed product, making aeration much more difficult. The Pirana plugged up because of the way it was configured. We looked at other onsite aerobic bacteria generating systems and chose the White Knight from Knight Treatment Systems Inc. in Oswego, N.Y. That solved the plugging problem, and we found other uses for the Pirana within the process.
The White Knight uses the same amount of air as the Pirana. We run a constant 700 cfm into the system, but can modulate the flow as we increase or decrease the amount of air entering specific areas. The excess air heats the building. We have to keep our bugs warm and happy.
Pumper: Have you perfected the system?
Campbell: We’re still tweaking it. One thing we’re dealing with is biosolids. We’ve concluded that we’re going to have some no matter what. So, what are we going to do with them?
Last August, I went to two wastewater conventions and found FKC Screw Press from Port Angeles, Wash. That unit, which joins us (this summer), produces a Class A biosolid. It will double the volume of our system, but that means we need additional storage to handle peak days. We expect to produce 1,200- to 1,500-cubic yards of pathogen- and viral-free biosolids a year that meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 503 criteria.
After septage passes through the screw press, we should be dealing with 1,000 milligrams per liter BOD instead of 9,000, which brings us closer to groundwater discharge. My ultimate goal for the water is to drink it. People laugh, but Thailand and The Netherlands are doing it today. They call it new water.
Pumper: Are your preliminary results changing the city’s idea of how it should treat its wastewater?
Campbell: No, not at this time, but we did have an interesting experience. We video inspected Charlevoix’s sanitary sewer from the Big Fish plant to the pumping station before discharging effluent into it. The pipe was black and mostly plugged. When we showed the tape to the people at the municipal treatment plant, they promised to clean the line.
I proposed giving our system five or six months to do the job, to which they agreed. Our Notice of Determination from the City of Charlevoix says that we must have a supply of dissolved oxygen at a minimum of 4.0 milligrams per liter. That level of oxygenation enables the bugs to survive as they flow through the sewer. The black is completely gone now, and we think they’re colonizing the pump station because of the reduction in grease buildup.
Pumper: Besides your driver, how many contract pumpers are using your facility?
Campbell: Just two. We expect our daily operation to average 10,000 to 14,000 gallons. We don’t want to become too busy and keep drivers waiting to discharge their loads. When the screw press arrives, we’re confident we can come close to processing 20,000 gallons a day.
Big Fish has been a very exciting thing. I can’t think of anything more satisfying, outside of my family, than trying something brand new and achieving the results we’re seeing.
