Press Release: Leoni Township Celebrates Clean Water Plant Improvements
Leoni Township officials dedicated upgrades to its 3.0 million gallon per day (mgd) Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) plant that services the Township and 12 other communities in southeast Michigan.
The dedication on Wednesday afternoon, which included tours of the plant improvements, was held at the Clean Water Plant, located at 8401 Page Avenue.
The $11.8 million project included replacing the existing flat plate membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology with hollow fiber ultrafiltration MBR technology, replacing influent microscreening equipment and upgrading the biological treatment process to improve treatment.
The improvements, funded through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), were necessary to restore hydraulic capacity and reliability which were compromised as the existing membranes aged, especially during high flow wet-weather events.
F&V Construction (FVC) led the project utilizing the Progressive Design-Build (PDB) delivery method. FVC’s sister company, Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering (F&V) provided design and construction engineering services. F&V Operations & Resources Management, Inc. operates the treatment plant and also assisted in the project.
“The plant was having hydraulic capacity and treatment issues and upgrades were urgently needed restore capacity and improve reliability,” said David Harvey, F&V Senior Associate and project manager. “With all the improvements, the plant can now handle the peak flows.”
“It was a good F&V team effort. We leveraged our capabilities within the company to deliver the project quickly and within budget.”
Leoni Township provides wastewater treatment services to its residents and the Jackson County townships of Napoleon, Columbia, Norvell, Hanover, and Liberty, the Charter Townships of Blackman and Grass Lake, and the Villages of Grass Lake and Brooklyn, as well as Cambridge Township, in Lenawee County, and the Townships of Sylvan and Lyndon in Washtenaw County.
Howard Linnabary, Leoni Township supervisor, said the much-needed improvements keep the plant in compliance with its permit through the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
“These improvements were crucial in providing wastewater treatment services for 13 communities,” Linnabary added. “It benefits all the communities as we work together to provide municipal services to our residents.
“Leoni Township and the Leoni Regional Utility Authority (LRUA) are committed to exploring ways to provide quality, efficient and effective wastewater treatment services and the completion of this project is the first step in that process.”
MBRs combine conventional biological treatment (activated sludge) processes with membrane filtration to provide an advanced level of organics and suspended solids removal, and an advanced level of nutrient removal. The membranes have a useful life of 10-20 years. The plant was originally commissioned in 2010.
In 2021, an odor control system was added to the Headworks Building to mitigate hazardous working conditions and address neighbor complaints. That project included a bio-trickling filter, activated carbon polishing filter, makeup air unit, blower, nutrient feed skid and solid cover planking over the existing channels and tank openings.
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