19 Jul Veolia Completes $40 Million Wastewater Treatment Upgrade Project

Veolia held an open house July 11 at the Richmond Water Pollution Control Plant after completing a construction project. (Veolia North America)

Staff Report

Veolia North America last week announced completion of major upgrades to the Richmond Water Pollution Control Plant, the result of a three-year, $40 million construction project.

The upgrades are expected to improve wastewater treatment, environmental compliance and odor control for the city of Richmond as well as nearby communities on the San Francisco Bay.

Veolia has operated Richmond’s wastewater treatment plant for more than two decades.

The construction project is a significant step forward in modernizing the plant’s ability to effectively treat the city’s wastewater and protect its environment, Veolia officials said. In announcing the completion, Veolia held an open house July 11 for the community and officials to see the results.

“Veolia is proud to be a key partner to the city of Richmond as it continually improves its infrastructure and its resiliency for the future,” said Karine Rougé, CEO for Municipal Water at Veolia North America, in a press release. “These vital improvements will make a significant impact in how the wastewater treatment plant functions in the community, by improving the quality of treated water released into San Francisco Bay, delivering more efficient operations to the city, and better controlling the odors produced by the wastewater treatment process.”

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The system improvements are also expected to provide environmental and financial benefits to Richmond. The new equipment will require less energy and lower levels of chemical treatment to operate, reducing the city’s costs as well as its greenhouse gas emissions.

These are part of the goals of Veolia’s global GreenUp strategy, an attempt to accelerate water quality improvement, decarbonization and technological innovation. The Richmond Water Pollution Control Plant construction project replaced outdated or ineffective equipment used in major functions at the plant including the following:

• Fine screens – Two new mechanical fine screens were installed to filter out trash, rags and other larger debris from the wastewater stream, with the goal of preventing material from clogging pipes and pumps.
• Vortex grit removal system – Grit and sand settles at the bottom of wastewater treatment tanks, where it can cause wear and tear on machinery. The new grit removal system allows those materials to be easily separated from wastewater.
• Biofilter – Gases released by the wastewater treatment process are captured and forced through a new filtration system.
• Blower building – a new structure holds powerful turbo blowers, which ingest outside air that is diffused into wastewater to promote the treatment process.
• Aeration basins – a new system in the wastewater treatment tanks diffuses air into the water as fine bubbles. These bubble diffusers are more consistent, efficient and resilient than the prior system.