Problem: The Coaticook-Memphremagog region in Quebec, Canada, is a vacation destination, which makes wastewater management an important environmental challenge. The septic tanks of the dwellings must be cleaned every couple of years and the septage treated. Some 8,000 tons of septage are produced yearly.

Solution: The Intermunicipal Solid Waste Management Board of Coaticook, an organization of 22 municipalities, decided to take up the challenge. The board has built a centralized septage receiving facility. The liquid septage received at this facility first passes through a modular Claro septage screening system, which can be equipped with an independent wash press, automated rock trap, hygienic baggers and a hauler access/metering/billing system. “We then put in chemicals, and we separate the liquid from the solid using a Fournier Rotary Press. Once this process is completed, the solids are recovered through composting,” describes Francis Lussier, general manager of the board. The clean liquid is sent to the local landfill’s wastewater treatment plant.

Result: The septage screen provides a low-maintenance system that protects equipment from fouling damage. The rotary press creates a cake with a dryness of about 40%. Lussier notes that municipalities could save in management and transportation costs. The board also reduces landfilling of organic waste and produces an excellent compost used by local farmers. 514-562-4575; www.claroglobal.com and 418-423-4241; www.fournierdewatering.com