Nero Engineering

Nero completed a study at the Western Lakes Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) facility on their plant water (PW) reuse system. WLSSD has an unusually warm wastewater, which even for treated water can cause issues for reuse (biofouling in the distribution system). Additionally, the PW reuse system has been notorious for plugging small valves and nozzles because of semi-buoyant plastics that navigate their way through the treatment processes during peak flow events. Our study included a thorough inventory of the plant water and city water uses throughout the facility to determine if potable city water uses could be converted to PW if the water quality were better, a pilot study to determine the ability to obtain efficient low-grade heat recovery from the warm discharge and a recommendation for further treatment of the plant water for easier and continued use. The design portion of this project is currently underway.