The City of Hamilton retained Associated Engineering to upgrade the Headworks Building odour control biofilter at the Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant. The existing odour control biofilter was constructed in 2002 and consisted of 900mm of wood chip biofilter media over top of 900mm of granular silica media for support. Our scope of work included:
- Investigation of the condition of the existing biofilter and associated equipment
- Comparison of the use of different biofilter media, including both organic and synthetic media
- Design of media replacement strategy, along with replacement of the existing irrigation system
- Developing a Request for Tender documents and contract drawings for the upgrades
- Assistance during tendering
- Contract administration and part-time site review during construction
One key consideration in the replacement of the biofilter media is limitations on how the existing media can be removed and new media installed. Conventional excavation equipment cannot be placed within the biofilter basin, to avoid damaging the air header assemblies located in the underlying granular silica stone media. Therefore, removal of the existing media is to be performed using vac trucks.