Designer/Engineer Updates

Welcome to Orenco's Designer/Engineer Update. Here you'll find more information about items from our e-mailed newsletter.

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8/9/10 Update

Explore Our New Web Site

Pop the cork! Orenco Systems has just updated its corporate Web site. (And it’s about time!)

As a wastewater system designer or engineer, you may be especially interested in the new Technical Resources and News sections and, of course, the entire Engineered Solutions market area. We've also added a new Regulatory Resources area with state-by-state approval information.

Or just start at the new Home page and explore

Regulators, Installers Embrace AX20-RT

In the six months since the AdvanTex AX20-RT made its first appearance at the Washington Onsite Sewage Association's 2010 conference, Orenco's "plug & play" advanced textile treatment system has been approved in more than 20 regulatory jurisdictions. Additional approvals are pending in half a dozen others.

"It's being widely accepted in the regulatory community," says Sam Carter, Orenco's Government Relations Manager. "NSF approved the AX20-RT last year as an equivalent to the AX20. So it has a Standard 40 listing, suitable for applications needing BOD/TSS reductions to <10 mg/L and nitrogen-reduction of 60-70 percent or better."

To assess the RT's nitrogen-reduction capabilities under "real-life" conditions, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has added the RT to its one-year field trials program. Twelve RTs were installed in a matter of weeks, and MDE subsequently removed any limits on the number of systems that could be installed in the state. "When the regulators saw the product, they saw it really was equivalent to an AX20," said distributor Bob Johnson, Atlantic Solutions. "Same media, pump vault, pump, and control panel."

According to Johnson, designers and their customers lean towards the RT whenever there's an existing tank, discharge pump requirement, small lot, or access issue. And installers lean towards the RT because it can be installed in half-a-day: "They're done by lunch and putting the tools in the truck." Darren Simmie, Orenco's director of sales, agrees. "Many installers are quoting it the way they'd quote the install of a 1000-gal. tank. It's a shallow install, with inlet and outlet plumbing. That's it."

The AX20-RT has been APPROVED in the following jurisdictions:
Alabama, Alberta, Arkansas, British Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada County (CA), Oregon, Ohio, Oregon, Sonoma County (CA), South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia

The RT also has approvals PENDING in the following jurisdictions:
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee

For more information, contact Orenco at 800-348-9843 or +1-541-459-4449.

Upcoming Trainings at Orenco Cover Community and Residential Design Topics

At our headquarters in Sutherlin, Oregon, we have an AdvanTex Boot Camp, a Control Panels training, and a Pumps training scheduled for August 16-19. Although these are aimed at installers and service providers, they can benefit residential system designers who want to know more about how our systems work.

Visit our Registration page

4/23/10 Update

Treatment Configurations for Nitrogen Reduction

For commercial-scale projects facing nitrogen requirements, AdvanTex can be used in specific treatment train configurations to meet those stringent limits.

For ammonia (NH3-N) requirements, a Two-Stage AdvanTex system can get the job done, with minimal operator input. Orenco can assist with sizing and historical performance data. See our case studies on Truesdale, Iowa and Class VI Resort, West Virginia for examples.

For total nitrogen (TN) projects, AdvanTex has been partnered with carbonaceous upflow filters to reduce average TN by over 90%. Designers can confidently expect performance below 10 mg/L, like that achieved at Rancho Encantado, New Mexico or Malibu Creek Plaza, California.

To learn more and download case studies, visit our new Nitrogen Solutions page.

Control Panels for Industrial Markets

Orenco's standard and custom control panels are becoming increasingly popular for applications other than water/wastewater. Our industrial panels include motor and valve controls and a variety of functions for energy efficiency, such as variable frequency drives and reduced voltage starters. They also include alarms, monitoring systems, programmable logic, graphical interfaces, touchscreens, etc.

Orenco's industrial controls can be found in facilities that produce heavy equipment, cables, composite products, filtration devices, and more. To spread the word, Orenco Controls managers are heading to PTXi next month -- an international process equipment show -- and they've completed a major update to their Web site: www.orencocontrols.com. You can go straight to the page about controls for industrial process equipment. Or, to talk shop, contact Jerry Snyder, Sales Manager, at (877) 257-8712 (toll-free in USA) or (541)-459-6917, x273.

Visit the Orenco Controls Web site

Check Out Our New "Green" Case Studies

Projects using Orenco's environmentally sustainable, "green" technologies are earning LEED credits, winning awards, and earning lots of "first of its kind" designations in jurisdictions all over the world. Not to mention producing re-use quality effluent!

We've profiled three of these projects in our new "Green Case Study" series. For the residential market, check out our Esther's Island Retreat case study, which describes a solar-powered AX20 Treatment System on an off-the-grid cottage located on a small island adjacent to Nantucket, Massachusetts.

For the commercial market, check out our Audubon Education Center case study, which describes an AdvanTex Treatment System for an educational facility in Debs Park, Los Angeles, that earned the Green Building Council's first-ever Platinum LEED rating.

For the new development market, check out our Habitat Acres case study, which describes an Orenco Effluent Sewer and AdvanTex AX100 Treatment System for a planned community near Calgary, in Alberta ... the first effluent sewer ever approved in that province.

You can see all these case studies at our Sustainability Advantages Web page.

Also, for more information on how to earn LEED credits for your Orenco-equipped projects, here are two helpful documents:

2/19/10 Update

Introducing AdvanTex AX20-RT: Performs Like AdvanTex, Installs Like a Tank

Orenco's new AdvanTex AX20-RT Residential Wastewater Treatment System is a completely pre-packaged "plug & play" AX20 that installs as easily as a septic tank. The AX20-RT combines the recirc, treatment, and discharge modules of a standard AX20 system into a single, shallowly buried unit, reducing excavation, installation, and service costs.

The AX20-RT is an economical system for residential sites where an old system has failed but the existing septic tank is still usable. It's also ideal for small sites and those requiring shallow excavations.

The AX20-RT produces the same outstanding, re-use quality effluent produced by a standard AX20 and has been approved by NSF as an AX20-equivalent.

More information, including installation instructions, is available at the AX20-RT page.

Visit the AX20-RT page

Dozens of Wineries Choose AdvanTex

Wineries generate high-strength wastewater when they clean their equipment between batches. The AdvanTex Treatment System is well suited for wineries because it can accommodate highly variable flows. Orenco has provided wastewater treatment systems for dozens of wineries.

For example, Bin to Bottle, a custom-crush winery in Napa, California, recently chose an AdvanTex system to pretreat its process water before discharging it to a municipal sewer. Because of the modular nature of the AdvanTex system, Bin to Bottle was able to start operations with a single AX100 pod. As their production volume grew, they added a second and third pod. The system now accommodates design flows of 1500 gpd, with peak flows of 2500 gpd. Wastewater is treated to an average of 98 mg/L BOD₅ and 63 mg/L TSS.

To learn more about the design of wastewater treatment systems for wineries, visit our Solutions for Wineries page, where you can download the Bin to Bottle Case Study and contact our engineers.

Visit the Solutions for Wineries page

1/29/10 Update

Orenco's First Effluent Sewer Approved in Australia

An Orenco Effluent Sewer supplied by Innoflow Australia Pty. will be installed this year for Yarra Valley Water, in Victoria, Australia. Yarra Valley Water chose Orenco's system to serve 91 new homes in the town of Kinglake West, one of the communities destroyed by the 2009 bush fires. The Orenco Effluent Sewer won out over several alternatives, including a grinder system.

In lifetime cost, ease of maintenance, and convenience to customers, effluent sewers have many advantages over grinder sewers. We've prepared a document, Considering a Pressure Sewer?, that summarizes these advantages. You can download it and other materials from the Effluent Sewer Collection page on our Web site.

Effluent Sewer vs. Grinder: An Operator's View

The current issue of Orenco's Operator News profiles Scott Monroe, manager of the Southwest Barry County Sewer and Water Authority in Michigan. Scott's system includes both grinder and effluent sewer connections.

"I'm not a big fan of grinders," Monroe said. "We get a lot more callouts with grinders than with STEP systems. The grinders tend to have problems with the cutters or with the control panel, whereas the STEP systems usually just have a dirty effluent filter or a float issue."

Monroe described his preventive maintenance program, which helps keep maintenance costs low by minimizing emergency calls -- something that's hard to do with grinders. "Grinders are harder to maintain," Monroe said. "When there is a problem, you have a very small [reserve] capacity to use your facilities until someone gets there to fix it. The pump is heavy and it may be eight or nine feet deep, so it's not a one-man job to get a grinder pump out of there."

The rest of the Operator News describes the role of turbidity testing in a maintenance program and describes some new products of interest to service providers. If you'd like to receive this occasional publication, e-mail Darren Paschke, Account Manager, at dpaschke@orenco.com.

Download Operator News, Vol. 4, No. 1 (December 16, 2009)

How to Keep Water Softener Brine Out of Wastewater Systems

When a household water softener backwashes its resin tank, the resulting brine is detrimental not only to septic systems but also to municipal wastewater treatment systems. Orenco and other manufacturers of onsite systems have maintained this for years, based on the experiences of service providers and customers. We'd like to see codes require water softener discharges to be routed around the wastewater system into a dry well or French drain. But manufacturers of water softener devices deny the problem and resist code changes.

Nevertheless, many jurisdictions do prohibit discharge of this brine to household or municipal systems. We've collected a list of them. We also have some documents that describe the problem and explain simple measures homeowners can take to enjoy softened water without discharging brine to the wastewater system. Please look over these documents to acquaint yourself with the issue. For more information about plumbing brine discharge away from septic systems, or for support with modifying codes in your area, contact Orenco.