Triplepoint is Featured at WEFTEC 08 in Chicago Illinois

GENEVA, Ill. / October 28, 2008 – The Mill Creek Water Reclamation District, world renowned for its innovative wastewater treatment facility, is considering upgrading its aging infrastructure with a modern, high-efficiency alternative.

The ‘Peak Efficiency Project,’ as it is dubbed, was selected after peer review and featured at the annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC), the world’s largest international water technology convention held in Chicago in October.

Mill Creek, located 5 miles west of Geneva, Ill., is a master plan community of approximately 2,000 homes and has its own water supply and wastewater system.

In a plan submitted by civil engineering firm Sheaffer & Roland, Mill Creek would both reduce its carbon footprint and experience electricity savings of hundreds of thousands of kilowatts per year. This would represent 55 to 65 percent energy savings on the cost of wastewater treatment — equivalent to as much as the power used by 61 homes annually, according to the US Department of Energy’s average per home usage.

“Not only is it environmentally good to try to lower increased costs, but it's also fiscally good,” commented Brian Grinstead, president of the Mill Creek Water Reclamation District, “It's always good if you can be 'green' and fiscally responsible at the same time.”

The wastewater treatment process at Mill Creek consists of a collection system that brings the sewage to one central point where it is ground up and injected into the bottom of a 20-ft. deep lagoon. After 40 days of aeration the water is filtered, disinfected and reused for irrigation on two adjacent 18-hole golf courses. The system is considered environmentally sensitive because, rather than mining the groundwater for irrigation purposes, it beneficially recycles and reuses water that would otherwise be discharged and pollute the local river.

Aeration, the process by which oxygen is added to water in order to aerobically break down sewage, accounts for the majority of costs associated with wastewater treatment. The ‘Peak Efficiency Project’ focuses on lowering these energy requirements. This is accomplished primarily by upgrading the aeration system with the M.A.R.S. 3000 aerator, a technology that is emerging in the wastewater industry.

Triplepoint Water Technologies, a Limited Liability Company registered in Washington State, is the manufacturer and distributor of the patented M.A.R.S. aerator, an acronym that stands for Mixing, Aerating, Rehabilitating and Sustaining.

“The M.A.R.S. is more efficient because of its ability to mix and aerate in one portable unit,” said Daniel J. Edwards, president of Triplepoint Water Technologies. “No longer do you have to choose between the oxygen transfer efficiency of fine bubble aeration and the mixing capability of the coarse bubble – the M.A.R.S. aerator harnesses the advantages of both technologies.”

“It is undoubtedly because of this uniqueness that the M.A.R.S. has gained the attention of both the Mill Creek Water Reclamation District and the Water Environment Federation.”

For more information about the MARS please visit the Wastewater Solutions section.