HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW) has earned a Premier Utility Management Performance (PUMP) Award from the Michigan Water Environment Association (MWEA) in partnership with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
Criteria for the PUMP Award rank among the national industry’s highest standards and require aptitudes in at least two of ten Effective Utility Management (EUM) attributes. HBPW’s Holland Area Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) received recognition for excellence in nine EUM areas: product quality, customer satisfaction, employee and leadership development, operational optimization, financial viability, infrastructure strategy and performance, enterprise resiliency and community sustainability.
Plans for adding an anaerobic digester to the wastewater treatment process show how HBPW demonstrates EUM as a PUMP Awardee. “We want to continue to treat wastewater at the highest level, innovating and looking forward as we fulfill essential needs of our community. That is a big part of what we are doing today. We are looking at adding an anaerobic digester to further treat the solids generated as a byproduct of the water reclamation process,” explains Theo VanAken, WRF Superintendent.
The anaerobic digester would resolve issues related to disposal of the solids produced, cutting that volume approximately in half. “The process we are looking towards also increases the quality of the solids produced. In addition to volume reduction, we would have more options for beneficial reuse”, describes Joel Davenport, HBPW Operations Director. Anaerobic digestion is an efficient process that produces methane as a byproduct of solids destruction in the digester. “The methane produced in the digester will be captured and utilized to generate renewable energy that will offset a portion of the heat and power demands at the WRF, reducing costs and creating a sustainable return on investment for the construction of the digester”, explained Davenport.
As a PUMP Awardee, Holland Board of Public Works is featured in a short video that tells the story of why the Holland Area Water Reclamation Facility was selected.
