Case Study: Water Treatment Using Mobile Treatment System

As is typical of many waterways located in former industrialized and urban areas, Chattanooga Creek has served as a dumping ground for hazardous materials for many years. The major cause of pollution in the creek is coal tar, a by-product from processes once located in this area near the center of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Remediation activities are now in progress under the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The impacted sediment is being excavated from the creek bed and along its banks, and hauled to a nearby drying bed. The dried material is then transported to a local permitted landfill for disposal.

Envirocon Inc., a company specializing in remediation projects like the one at Chattanooga Creek, was selected for its expertise in performing this type of work in environmentally sensitive areas. Envirocon project manager Larry Johnston puts it this way, “Chattanooga, and especially the residents living near the Chattanooga Creek remediation site, deserve to have this area returned to the very best condition possible.”

As a result of excavation, it was anticipated that the long-ago deposited pollutants would be re-entrained into the flow of the creek downstream from the work area. In order to mitigate the potential spread of contamination, Envirocon constructed temporary dams to create pools so that the polluted water could be contained and pumped to a treatment system capable of removing the contaminants of concern. The treated water is then safely released back into the creek downstream from the dams. “Envirocon has water treatment vendors worldwide,” says Johnston, “but we were fortunate that a company having worldwide experience with innovative water treatment technologies was right here in Chattanooga.”

Eric Rominger, general manager of Aquashield™ Inc., states, “When we were informed of the specific contaminants, combined with the challenges presented by the sensitive environment in which the equipment would need to operate in, we quickly mobilized our patented water treatment system to the site. The solution was to utilize our proven hydrodynamic separator and filter treatment train system in a lightweight, highly mobile configuration. We knew the area well, having many years of experience doing work in Chattanooga, and we recognized that Envirocon would be working in soft soil and limited access conditions. Our mobile treatment system, or Go-Filter™, is so maneuverable and lightweight that it beat out other water treatment options that were either too heavy or, frankly, very expensive. Of course our system had to remove the pollutants to meet the regulatory requirements, and we delivered the results needed.”