April
19 ,
2004
 (Baltimore, Md.) The American Council of Engineering Companies
of Maryland (ACEC/MD) presented the Baltimore office of Gannett Fleming
with a 2004 Achievement Award for its work on the Back River Wastewater
Treatment Plant (WWTP) sludge dewatering facilities. The project
was recognized for demonstrating a high degree of achievement, value,
and ingenuity.
 At the Back River WWTP, the City of Baltimore treats approximately
180 million gallons of wastewater daily. A major component of this
treatment is the removal of sludge so only treated wastewater is
returned to the environment. Gannett Fleming designed new facilities
that mechanically separate the sludge (approximately 8,000 liquid
tons per day) from the wastewater.
Key requirements of the project were to keep the plant functioning
throughout the retrofit (phasing new and old equipment) and provide
new facilities that would ensure efficiency and reliability of sludge
dewatering operations. The design incorporated reuse of existing
facilities wherever possible, phasing of construction of new equipment
and retirement of old equipment, and 100 percent redundancy in all
critical process equipment systems. Equipment control systems were
also integrated into the existing plant-wide process control computer
system to provide remote monitoring and control capability.
The plant remained fully functioning throughout the project. The newly
designed sludge dewatering facilities have provided major long-term
improvements in the wastewater solids handling operations at the Back
River WWTP.
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