Septic-to-Sewer Conversion Helps Clean Up a Florida Community 

SUTHERLIN, ORE., October 7, 2016 — For the second year in a row, an Orenco^® Systems’ wastewater installation has received a “Top Projects” award from Water & Wastes Digest magazine. Winners of this coveted award are selected based on the challenges presented by their projects and how they met those challenges.

This year’s award-winning project is located in Vero Beach, Florida, a densely populated city adjacent to the Indian River Lagoon on Florida’s east coast. Many of the city’s on-lot septic tanks and drainfields were failing, and experts believed that nitrogen, phosphorus, and bacteria from these systems were contributing to the pollution of the watershed. To address these concerns, approximately 1,500 septic systems are now being replaced with an Orenco Sewer™ system.

Darren Paschke, a Project Manager in Orenco’s Municipal Systems group, coordinated the project. “We are excited to be recognized again this year by Water & Wastes Digest,” says Paschke. “The engineer in Vero Beach did his homework and, after analyzing several types of wastewater collection, determined that Orenco Sewer was the most cost-effective solution.”

Robert J. Bolton, P.E., is the Director of Water and Sewer for Vero Beach. While researching various sewer options, he contacted other cities that had already installed Orenco Sewer. He found they were able to maintain their systems with minimal staffing and negligible maintenance issues. “At this point,” says Bolton, “I determined that Orenco products led the industry.” And, according to Bolton’s calculations, the cost of installing an Orenco Sewer was less than half of what it would have cost to expand the city’s gravity sewer system.

Orenco Sewers use underground tanks at each home to collect wastewater solids, with pump-outs needed only 7-10 years, depending on occupancy.ⁱ The liquid waste is pumped to a treatment facility. Energy requirements, operation and maintenance needs, and life-cycle costs for the system are all typically much less than those for a traditional gravity sewer system.ⁱⁱ

• News Release PDF >
• Photo Captions >
• Photo - Vero Beach and the Indian River Lagoon >
• Photo - Vero Beach, Florida >
• Photo - Orenco Headquarters >

ⁱ Orenco Systems, internal tests, based on a 95% level of confidence.
ⁱⁱ Water Environment & Reuse Foundation, Decentralized Systems Performance and Costs Fact Sheets, www.werf.org/i/c/DecentralizedCost/Decentralized_Cost.aspx

Orenco Showcases Three Innovative Product Lines at WEFTEC 

SUTHERLIN, ORE., September 27, 2017 — Orenco Systems^® will have a strong presence again this year at the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC), held September 30th through October 4th at McCormick Place in Chicago. The company’s booth (#2812) will display all three of its interconnected, leading-edge product lines: Wastewater Collection & Treatment, Composites, and Controls. 

Orenco Sewers™ are a cost-effective alternative to gravity or grinder sewer and the only pressure sewer technology that provides primary wastewater treatment. Solids are collected in an underground on-lot tank, while effluent is pumped away for treatment through small-diameter collection lines that require minimal excavation. The reduced organic load means both the size and cost of the treatment plant can be minimized.

Orenco’s new STEP (septic tank effluent pump) package, featured in the booth, is a key part of an Orenco Sewer. This complete, high-quality package is ordered as a single line item, making it easy for engineers to specify. Its long-lifespan components include a meander tank for superior settling and a lightweight, highly dependable effluent pump with an affordable, 10-year limited warranty.

“Life-cycle cost analysis shows that Orenco Sewer is more affordable than either grinder or gravity sewer,” says Bill Cagle, Business Development Manager. “Plus, our sewer solution allows municipalities and developers to defer capital costs with a build-as-you-go approach. And the new STEP tank makes installation and operation of an Orenco Sewer easier than ever.”

WEFTEC visitors can also see a full-size cutaway of an AdvanTex^® AX-Max™ Wastewater Treatment System, Orenco’s recirculating packed-bed filter with a highly efficient, engineered textile treatment media. AdvanTex received WEF’s 2011 “Innovative Technology Award” and is in use all over the world. The technology is known for its reliable treatment, small footprint, and low maintenance requirements.

Tristian Bounds, P.E., Orenco’s Lead Research and Development Engineer, was selected by WEFTEC’s education department to present a technical session about treating wastewater – both blackwater and greywater – for reuse purposes at or near the point of generation. This approach reduces demands on potable water resources and provides other environmental and economic benefits. Tristian’s 30-minute presentation, “Responsible Water Recycling: Decentralized Solutions for Water Reuse,” (session 219) will be on Monday, October 2nd, at 1:30 p.m. in room S403b.

Sharing booth #2812, Orenco Composites™ (orencocomposites.com), a division of Orenco Systems, will display a single-piece DuraFiber™ building. These buildings are made using a closed-molding construction process. They feature integral foam-core insulation, no seams, no wood, and no mechanical fasteners. Installation is quick and easy: just attach to a concrete pad and connect the power.

Orenco Composites will also display two of its other FRP products: tank covers and rectangular tanks. The close-molded covers have an integral foam core and are offered in multiple configurations. The tanks are manufactured using single-piece molded construction and are customizable with weirs, baffles, sloped floors, and many other options.

Rounding out the booth, Orenco Controls™ (orencocontrols.com) will have a selection of panels on hand, showcasing various control and monitoring capabilities. A stand-alone OLS Series panel will show off its sleek new design and logic controller. This panel has the same great features as always, but now includes cleaner interface graphics. OLS panels use variable-frequency drives (VFDs) that optimize system performance and reduce energy usage. A second OLS panel will be inside the DuraFiber building with the VFDs mounted on an inside wall, demonstrating an excellent method of eliminating heat rise and maintaining the integrity of an electrical control system.

Orenco Controls will also display four municipal lift station panels with various features and advantages, including a grinder panel that can handle difficult tie-in locations, an electromechanical duplex panel that can be manufactured on short notice for urgent jobs, a basic duplex panel that’s economical but still offers logic and data logging, and a panel that uses Orenco’s VeriComm^® web-hosted monitoring service.

Based in Sutherlin, Oregon, Orenco Systems has been designing and manufacturing energy-efficient water and wastewater products since 1981. The company employs about 300 people and has more than 300 points of distribution worldwide. For more information, visit orenco.com. 

To arrange an interview at WEFTEC, please contact:

Bill Cagle (Wastewater Collection & Treatment Products), 541-784-6421

Eric Ball (Composites Products), 541-580-2350

Jerry Snyder (Controls Products), 541-580-5781

• News Release >
• Orenco Staff Biographies >
• Photo Captions >
• Photo - Orenco Sewers STEP Package >
• Photo - AdvanTex AX-Max Treatment Unit from Orenco Systems >
• Photo - DuraFiber Building from Orenco Composites >
• Photo - Tank Cover from Orenco Composites >
• Photo - Rectangular Tank from Orenco Composites >
• Orenco Wastewater Solutions Brochure >
• Orenco Sewers STEP Package Flyer >
• AdvanTex AX-Max Brochure >
• Orenco Composites Flyer >
• DuraFiber Buildings Flyer >