Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties
The project involved the upgrade and replacement of various equipment throughout the plant including the replacement of nineteen (19) pumps, installation of nineteen (19) Variable Frequency Drives (one for each new pump), replacement of over fifty (50) valves (many with electric or pneumatic actuators), replacement of three (3) Motor Control Centers with SCADA ready components, installation of six (6) motor operated Slide Gates and various miscellaneous site work.
The two (2) Sludge Transfer Pumps, three (3) Waste Activated Sludge Pumps, six (6) Return Activated Sludge Pumps and eight (8) Digester Recirculation Pumps were all approaching the end of their useful life and in need of replacement. VFDs were installed with each new pump to allow greater flexibility for the plants operations including a future SCADA upgrade. The controls for each of the pumps were modified in the VFDs to sequence the opening and closing of valves and controlling equipment such as seal water. The new control schemes provide greater protection and allow for less human error.
The existing Motor Controls Centers were part of the Plant Expansion in the 1970's and in need of an upgrade. The new MCCs are SCADA ready for a near future SCADA expansion plantwide.
The influent channels entering the Primary of the plant were rehabilitated to include motor operated slide gates, new coatings, new grating for convenient access and motor operated valves to dewater the channels. These improvements allow the plant to control the flow entering the primary settling tanks with the Slide Gates and the new valves greatly reduce the need for employees to enter the confined space tunnel below the channels as well as eliminating the need to install temporary steel plates to isolate the grit chambers for maintenance.