New Wastewater Federal Mandates Making Current Lagoons Water Treatment Equipment Obsolete

  • February 18, 2016

Over the course of the last 35 years, the wastewater industry has seen regulations tighten to meet new environmental standards. With the change in requirements, many cities across the country have been forced to replace well-working equipment that no longer meets code. The City of Fairbanks, IA recently found themselves with a wastewater management solution that needed to be updated.

Nearly three decades ago, Air-O-Lator Corporation installed 10 three-horsepower Quantum surface aerators in the city’s sludge storage lagoon. Since then, the aerators performed flawlessly. But with new standards, the City had to abandon the existing lagoons water treatment and a new sludge storage lagoon was built to meet more stringent ammonia regulations.

Along with Mc2, Inc., who also partnered with Air-O-Lator on the original project in 1988, a successful installation of the Quantum surface aerators was completed for the City of Fairbank. To reduce ammonia emissions, Air-O-Lator needed to increase aeration by increasing the water surface area being treated.

Mc2 is a manufacturer’s representative of water and wastewater treatment equipment. Starting with the first project in 1981 in Guttenberg, IA, Mc2 has been representing Air-O-Lator ever since. Beginning with that first project, which is still in operation today, Mc2 has sold hundreds of Air-O-Lator products across their territory of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

Roger Gellhaus, with Mc2, explained that the successful relationship between Air-O-Lator and Mc2 is based on trust and honesty. “We have had a very open working relationship, and even though we do not see as many lagoon projects as we used to, I feel that both company’s reputations have made the projects we do seem easy to be specified.”