Biosolids Load Out System for Betasso Water Treatment Facility Boulder, CO

General Description

The Betasso Water Treatment Facility is part of the Boulder, Colorado water system and provides nearly all the drinking water for the city of Boulder. Located in the foothills west of Boulder, the city’s primary water treatment plant processes water from Barker and Lakewood reservoirs. Over the years, periodic maintenance projects and upgrades have been performed with the latest project being the addition of a new solids load-out building. The Betasso Plant and the Boulder Reservoir WTP combine to provide 6.5 Billion gallons of water per year.

The Betasso Water Treatment Facility operates 24 hours per day and 365 days per year. The improvements to the plant included an automated solids load-out facility. Previously, the solids were dried in drying beds prior to removal. The new system dewaters the sludge via belt filter press that directly feeds a KWS Environmental load-out system, which is designed to feed two 20-yard rollout containers and a truck.

Design Parameters

1. Product Type: Dewatered ALUM/PACL Sludge
2. Material Density: 55-70 Lbs. per Cubic Foot
3. Capacity: 85 Cubic Feet per Hour
4. Duty: 7 Days a Week, 24 Hours per Day

KWS Advantages

KWS Environmental was selected to provide a load-out system that required minimal operator involvement. KWS worked very closely with the consulting engineer, contractor, and local operators to design a system that met the requirements of the process and fit in the available space at the plant. The load-out system design went through several iterations before the final design was approved. KWS provided valuable input to the design and accommodated changes to the building layout and mating equipment. The structural supports for the new load-out system were analyzed, approved and stamped by an Engineer certified by the state of Colorado. KWS Environmental assisted the contractor during the installation phase to ensure the system was installed in accordance with the design.

Special Features

The new KWS load-out system included four shaftless screw conveyors and six electrically actuated slide gates. All the conveyor structural supports were manufactured from 304 stainless steel to prevent corrosion and were designed to fit the building and truck footprint. The custom structural supports were designed to bolt together and required no welding or field modification.

Every KWS shaftless screw conveyor comes standard with our exclusive one-piece flanged drive shaft. The drive shaft is machined from solid bar stock and is guaranteed for life. To better protect our Customers from rotating machinery, each shaftless screw conveyor has under-speed sensors, emergency pull cord safety stop systems and fixed covers secured with safety bolts requiring a special tool to remove. The motors were designed to strict specifications for the elevation and electrical requirements.

The truck load-out screw conveyor is partially located outdoors and designed with heat tracing and insulation to electrically warm the conveyor and prevent sludge from freezing in cold weather. The slide gate actuators are controlled via Modbus controls methodology, which greatly reduces the complexity of the control wiring.