Orenco Systems, Inc.

Articles about Orenco

2010

CE News, April 2010: "Septic System Savvy"

"Onsite wastewater treatment may initially evoke thoughts in the minds of many homeowners, regulators, and even civil engineers, of clogged septic tanks and malfunctioning drain fields. However, today’s advanced technologies — when properly applied, designed, installed, and maintained, like any engineered system — can be a better alternative to centralized wastewater collection networks and treatment plants, according to system designers, and they deserve consideration....

"Terry Bounds, P.E., owner and executive vice president, Orenco Systems, Inc., noted, 'The [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s] (EPA) 1997 Response to Congress on Use of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems identified a number of benefits of onsite systems [that] continue to stimulate the market. Decentralized systems are capable of collecting and treating wastewater to levels that meet or exceed treatment levels from centralized systems, but at a fraction of the upfront costs, and with reduced power and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs.' Orenco’s patented packed bed filter uses textile media and biochemical processes for wastewater treatment."

Onsite Installer, February 2010 : "Triple Header"

"Homeowners in Roseburg, Ore., wanted to stop the smelly water from ponding in their back yard. Two contractors advised the couple to poke holes in the liner of their sand filter. Instead, they sought a third opinion....

"...Orenco Systems Inc. in Sutherlin, Ore., was looking for a site to demonstrate its AdvanTex AX20RT three-in-one treatment, recirculating, and dosing tank.... The unit’s design enabled them to keep the existing septic tank and drainfield, while its compact shape expedited installation and minimized disruption."

2009

Onsite Installer, August 2009: "In Time for the Bell"

"Plumbing a new subdivision, four restaurants and several businesses into the Breitling Elementary School Waste Water Treatment Plant in Grand Bay, Ala., threatened to overwhelm its 30,000-gpd onsite system, sized to handle the school and a truck stop." The solution included nine of Orenco's AX100 modules and a ProSTEP effluent pumping system.

Water Environment and Technology Magazine, March 2009: "Small, Green, and Useful"

This article, written by the EPA's Robert Freeman and Joyce Hudson, profiles Effluent Sewer (STEP) systems that are overseen by South Alabama Utilities and Mobile Area Water and Sewer System, which use Orenco Effluent Sewers and AdvanTex Treatment Systems. "These STEP systems in the Mobile area represent a significant performance improvement over traditional septic tank and drain field developments of the past, and have provided savings of 25% to 50% over centralized collection and treatment."

Water Environment and Technology Magazine, March 2009: "O&M Considerations for STEP Systems"

This article by Mike Saunders, a National Accounts Leader for Orenco, explains how prospective system managers can realistically budget O&M costs for their systems. Although it's a good idea to talk to managers of other systems, be wary of using their costs to estimate yours, because your O&M practices may be different from theirs.

The Oregon Professional Engineer, Spring 2009: "Featured Project: Steamboat, Oregon"

Replacing an infiltration-prone collection and treatment system with an Orenco Effluent Sewer and AdvanTex Treatment System saved the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Transportation more than $20,000 in annual operating costs. "Because of the system’s outstanding effluent quality (monthly BOD5 and TSS tests have averaged 1.9 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L respectively), the DEQ approved a semiannual, instead of a monthly, testing procedure. As a result, annual operating costs have dropped to $1,455. The capital costs will be paid for in five years.

Marketwire, February 26, 2009: "Jensen Precast Septic Tanks Make Mobile Home Park Clean and Safe"

"Jensen Precast septic tanks solved a serious wastewater problem at The Pine Grove Mobile Home Park in Paradise, California." The solution involved new tanks and four or Orenco's AdvanTex AX100 treatment pods.

WaterWorld, February 2009: "Effluent Sewer Technology Saves Excavation Cost on Sewer Rehab Project"

"Effluent sewers use small-diameter pipe that can be “sleeved through” larger, failing gravity pipes using trenchless technology. For a Rhode Island developer, this particular benefit eliminated an unpredictable excavation cost and made a 2008 sewer rehab feasible....

"Use of Orenco’s STEP system technology afforded the owner cost savings for this project, by avoiding excessive excavation, limiting cutting and patching of streets and sidewalks, and minimizing disruption for residents of the neighborhood..."

Onsite Installer, January 2009: "Many of a Kind"

"...They faced high groundwater, power consumption and environmental issues, small lots, the need to reuse as many functioning drainfields as possible, and a city that didn’t want responsibility of monitoring 150 individual systems. The solution was a pre-plumbed, pre-wired, fully assembled treatment package for each lot, with textile media filter and ultraviolet disinfection....

"System components, shipped nested together, arrived in Anchorage on a barge. Orenco representatives instructed Tom Varney, AdvanTex coordinator at Anchorage Tank, and his employees how to assemble the parts. A special saddle enabled them to glue the 7.5- by 3- by 2.5-foot filter pod to the top of the recirculating tank, then glue the pump basin next to the tank. Risers were glued, too. Once plumbed and wired, the unit was ready to drop in a hole and plug in."

COWA News, Winter 2009: "IWS Helps Keep Critical Regional Hospital Online"

"[Feather River Hospital] now has one of the largest Orenco AdvanTex Treatment Systems in California. Work was completed by [Integrated Water Services, Inc.] while the hospital was in full operation."

COWA News, Winter 2009: "The Pine Grove Mobile Home Park"

Average daily flows were reduced from 25,000 gpd to 10,400 gpd just by fixing leaky fixtures in this 78-space California mobile home park. Once that was done, watertight concrete tanks, four or Orenco's AX100 treatment pods, and a pressurized dispersal system were installed with no disruption of service to residents.

COWA News, Winter 2009: "MH Park on Russian River Replaces Failing Onsite Wastewater System"

Installing an AdvanTex Treatment System allowed a drip irrigation system to be installed over a failing drainfield.

2008

Water Street Journal (Iowa Rural Water Association), Fall 2008: "Choosing Your Community Wastewater System: A Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Can Prevent Financial Woes"

"While design and construction are typically the same for [grinder and effluent sewer] systems, R&R and O&M costs differ significantly — and the life-cycle costs for effluent sewers are typically lower. To avoid financial problems in the future, decision-makers must evaluate these differences during the selection process and plan for them in the management and rate-setting process."