A national dairy brand completed their facility in Arizona in 2021 with the capacity to process 2 million pounds of milk per day. The brand was originally contracted to design, build, own, and operate the new facility’s on-site wastewater treatment plant. The plant was designed to include a low-solids and a high-solids wastewater stream, with the intention of passing pH-adjusted water to the publicly owned water treatment works (POTW).
However, the plant’s production mix changed by the time the facility opened, resulting in a change in wastewater characteristics. The contract for the wastewater treatment plant didn’t allow for changes to the wastewater, meaning the facility was out of compliance.
The Challenge
The brand was limited to processing 100,000 gallons of wastewater per day. Without being able to treat and discharge all of the plant’s wastewater, per the treatment plant’s contract, their only option was to haul the remaining liquid off-site via truck at the cost of $30,000 per day, totaling $6 million per year.
The ongoing noncompliance led to nearly 400 Notices of Violation (NOV) over just two years and severely strained the brand’s relationship with the city, the municipal water system, and the sewer district. The city was ready to close down its wastewater facility, a move that would have brought the entire facility to a halt. To address the noncompliance issues, the brand brought in Solution Group to provide expert evaluation and guidance.
The Findings
Solution Group conducted an extensive analysis using their proprietary software solution, Opticlear, to monitor the brand’s water quality in real-time. After thoroughly analyzing the data, Solution Group found that despite exceeding permitted wastewater flow and load limits, receiving nearly 400 Notices of Violation, and spending millions annually on hauling raw wastewater, the brand was not fully utilizing plant assets and could increase capacity with the existing equipment.
Solution Group tailored suggestions specifically to the facility that the current wastewater provider would have been able to implement. However, the vendor did not make the necessary adaptations, leading the brand to part ways and bring on Solution Group to execute their recommended solutions.
The Solution
Solution Group employees became a true extension of the dairy brand’s team, working together side-by-side with its employees at the facility. With the brand’s existing staff and equipment, Solution Group worked within the equipment’s capabilities to optimize production.
The brand’s operators received additional training, and more operators were hired to join the team. This training gave operators the tools and understanding to efficiently control the facility’s system, analyze root causes of issues, and use data to make real-time decisions. The dairy brand’s management and employees embraced the new training from Solution Group’s top-tier industry talent, ultimately empowering them to adopt high standards and significantly improve results.
The Results
With the ability of their Opticlear testing and monitoring system, Solution Group determined that making operational changes with the same equipment allowed for an eight-times higher throughput through the brand’s bio system, which led to outstanding biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) removal that became non-detectable.
The process control Solution Group implemented resulted in a 95%+ decrease in NOVs, from nearly 400 in two years to almost zero today. Further, Solution Group identified an additional capacity within the preexisting system that can make way for future growth for 50% less capital expenses than originally proposed.
Real-time condition monitoring and daily reporting have led to better communication and partnership between manufacturing and wastewater operations. Most notably, the dairy brand was also able to repair the relationship with the municipality and create a stronger, more collaborative partnership.
The brand’s facility in Arizona started off on the wrong foot with the municipality and faced an inevitable shutdown. Solution Group’s team of experts put the facility back on track and positioned the operation for further growth in the future.
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