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Wastewater Treatment and Reuse for Wineries

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Presqu’ile Winery, Santa Maria Valley, California

Accommodating a small footprint

Presqu’ile Wineryon California’s Central Coast constructed a winery facility that required a wastewater treatment system for its process water. The facility was intended to include all aspects of wine making, from crush through fermentation and bottling. Summit Engineering of Santa Rosa designed a six-unit AdvanTex® AX100 Treatment System to accommodate the production of up to 25,000 cases of wine per year. A small footprint was paramount to the system design, to accommodate landscaping features and a parking lot for the new tasting room. Treated water is dispersed on-site onto a spray field covered with native plants. Integrated Water Services completed the AdvanTex system construction within a two-month time frame to keep the rest of the facility construction on track.

Craggy Range Winery, New Zealand

Setting a standard of excellence

Located in a stunningly beautiful setting, Craggy Range Wineryis one of the most technically advanced wineries ever built in New Zealand. In 2004, an AdvanTex AX100 Treatment System was installed to serve the exclusive Terrôir restaurant, guest cottages, winery office, restrooms, and employee residences. The system successfully handles up to 2,600 gallons (9840 L) per day of domestic-strength waste.

Bin to Bottle, Napa Valley, California

Saving on sanitary sewer district surcharges

Bin to Bottleis a wine processing and bottling facility in Napa Valley, California. The company’s success led to a need for expanded capacity and a new facility, as well as a wastewater pretreatment system to lower BOD5 levels before discharging to the Napa Sanitary District. This pretreatment allowed for a reduction in associated sewer surcharges. Because Bin to Bottle provides services for many different vineyard clients, they have longer crush and bottling periods than a single winery would have (three months in the fall for crush and three months in the winter for bottling). The associated wastewater treatment system needed to handle a huge flux in flow throughout the season, as well as quick increases in capacity. During peak seasons, the facility needed to treat 2,000 gallons (7570 L) per day of high-strength process waste. After evaluating their options, Bin to Bottle finally settled on primary treatment with aeration followed by Orenco’s AdvanTex textile filters for final treatment. Orenco also provided training to the facility manager and crew to help operate the system.

Jim Ball Vineyards, Mendocino, California

Treatment for winery process and domestic wastewater

Jim Ball Vineyardsat Middleridge Ranch in Mendocino County, California, needed a treatment system for wine processing waste streams, as well as for domestic waste streams from visitor facilities and a residence. The owners selected Orenco’s AdvanTex Treatment Systems. For winery process waste, two AdvanTex AX100 units were installed to handle up to 1500 gallons (5680 L) per day. For the tasting room and the residence, three AdvanTex AX20 units were installed to handle up to 1000 gallons (3785 L) per day. All the effluent discharges to a subsurface drainfield.

Dana Estates, Santa Rosa, California

Trusted for the heart of Napa Valley, with irrigation reuse

A popular wine-tour destination, Dana Estatesboasts a full-service winery located in the heart of California’s Napa Valley. In 2007, two AdvanTex AX100 treatment units were installed to treat winery process waste with peak flows reaching 2,650 gallons (10,030 L) per day. In addition, two AdvanTex AX20 units treat domestic-strength waste from the building housing the tasting room. The clear effl uent has minimal odor and is dispersed on-site via subsurface soil trenches used for irrigation.

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Design Considerations for Wineries

Because of its high strength and surge flows, winery process wastewater requires ample primary tankage followed by a robust secondary treatment system.

Commercial AdvanTex® Treatment Systems use a multiple-pass, packed-bed wastewater treatment technology that is well suited for winery applications. The moist bed of synthetic textile in the AdvanTex filter pod provides an environment that is highly favorable to both aerobic and anaerobic treatment processes, allowing large volumes of wastewater to be treated in a small space. Because effluent is recirculated through the system in timed doses, treatment proceeds consistently, regardless of variations in influent flow.

Active ventilation systems are required for all process wastewater treatment facilities. Adjustment of pH may also be necessary.

Typically, effluent from the treatment system is reused to irrigate vines, replenishing nutrients in the soil.