Simplest Solution Saves the Budget and Moves to EPA Compliance

The wastewater treatment plant in Phillipsburg was out of EPA compliance and town leaders needed to act. The thinking was that the old lagoon system “was shot”. Like many rural communities who are considering obsoleting their lagoon systems, the town applied for and obtained grants and loans to build a new mechanical wastewater treatment system.

Yet, some Philipsburg leaders were hesitant. They did not want to impose the hardships of higher rates and long-term debt service upon their small community of 1000 households. Therefore, they investigated and sought alternatives on how to manage water borne waste and meet discharge regulations, while accounting for flow rates, water loss and future demand.

They avoided whirlwind thinking of “Your community wastewater system is out of compliance and must meet regulations. Oh no… you need a new wastewater treatment system.” Instead, they chose the simplest and least expensive route to bring their
wastewater system closer to compliance by reducing infiltration in the system and removing accumulated sludge via dredging.
Philipsburg community leaders chose to forego grants and loans toward a new mechanical wastewater system.

Dredging a rural 6-acre wastewater lagoon requires planning, funding, and ingenuity. The two facultative lagoons were built in 1961 and each is six-acres in size and 5 feet deep. The lagoons had never been dredged and were half full of sludge. For many of the 50+ years, the lagoons held a combination of sewer, waste, and street runoff, resulting in grit along with waste. Sludge removal – deferred maintenance - was necessary to enable lagoons to function as originally designed.

The town of Philipsburg funded the dredging project and rented a Crisafulli FLUMP with pivoting traverse system and 500 feet of floating pipe. Public Works Director, Sam Dennis and crew dredged the primary lagoon for six weeks. “The dredge with the
pivoting traverse system worked really well and did what was promised. A really neat little machine” as described by Dennis. The pivoting traverse system accelerates dredging speeds by enabling the operator to dredge, pivot and dredge again.
SRS Crisafulli Engineer Eric Lillberg was onsite for set-up and operations. Lillberg said “When I visited the lagoon in early spring, the lagoon appeared as if it didn’t need dredging. Two months later during the summer, it was obvious to me that it definitely
needed dredging.” As Dennis said, “Can’t say enough good about Eric. He has a great sense of humor and that is important. Eric has traveled everywhere and really knows dredging”. Robin Franzen, Wastewater Technician of Montana Rural Water Systems,
visited the jobsite and introduced himself.

Pioneer Technical Services (PTS) conducted survey work with elevation considerations for placement of geo-bags and provided advice on chemical inputs and pipe sizing. Most significantly, PTS assisted in identifying and meeting DEQ regulations. The crew added polymers to the sludge when it arrived at the lagoon bank and utilized a manifold system to direct the flows into 20 geo-bags. Each geo-bag is 45 feet wide and 100 feet long. The geo-bags are held in a 3-acre containment area and each bag has a
liner. Water is recycled as it drains from the geo-bags back into the primary lagoon. By choosing the simplest and least expensive solution, Philipsburg served the community’s wastewater needs, moved closer to DEQ regulations, and protected the financial concerns of their community.