Field Day: Investigating Aeration, Controls, and Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems

Registration for this event is closed.

Aeration is one of the most significant energy users in a wastewater treatment plant. There are a variety of solutions and technologies that can manage energy use efficiently while still ensuring your plant can meet or exceed its permitting requirements.

This two-part field day will cover strategies and new technologies to manage aeration at wastewater treatment plants. The field day events are listed below – please join us at one or both events!

9:00 – 11:00 am: Tour of O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant (Skokie, IL)
First, an optional tour is offered of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s (MWRD) Terrence J. O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant in Skokie, IL. We will tour the plant and see their treatment systems in action. We will also discuss projects that will reduce energy use at the plant. Two CEU credits will be provided for attending this tour.

This tour has limited spots available and is only open to wastewater treatment plant staff, operators, and/or municipal staff.* MWRD also requires tour participants to complete a liability waiver and upload their ID for a background check prior to attending the site visit. Once registered, we will provide you with all forms to complete this tour requirement.

12:00 – 3:00 pm: Aeration and Energy Efficiency (Evanston, IL)
Next, we will host a workshop at the Evanston Ecology Center (10 min drive from O’Brien WWTP). All are welcome to register and attend the workshop portion of this field day!

In this workshop, we will discuss how energy efficiency plays a role in effective aeration. We will highlight the basics of aeration and energy efficiency, but we will also touch on mixing, blowers, and control strategies that can help reduce energy use and utility costs at your plant. We will also discuss no-cost assessments, incentives, and funding opportunities to help implement energy-saving aeration projects. Lunch will be provided, as well as 2.5 CEUs for attending this workshop.

We look forward to having you join us either at the tour, the workshop, or both!
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* If you are interested in attending but are not an operator or municipal staff, please register and we will place you on a wait list to join the tour. Additional attendees will be taken off the wait list in the order in which they registered.