HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0039578_Annual Report_20220127
2021
ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT
for
Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority
Wastewater Operations
The Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority currently owns and operates four (4) wastewater treatment
facilities. The following report is a summary of the operation of the TWSA Plant #1 (NC0039578)
facility for the 2021 calendar year.
TWSA Plant # 1
Location: 1871 North River Rd.
Sylva, North Carolina 28779
Operator in Responsible Charge: Stan Bryson
Contact: Wastewater Operations Superintendent
1246 West Main St.
Sylva NC 28779
ph: 828-586-9318
TWSA Plant # 1 is operated under the authority of the following permits, as issued by the North Carolina
Dept. Of Environment and Natural Resources: NC0039578 NPDES Discharge Permit
WQ0005763 Residuals Permit
Air Quality Permit #08420R01
Stormwater Permit #NCG110111
TWSA Plant # 1 discharges from one outfall into the Tuckasegee River which is classified Class C-Trout
waters in the Little Tennessee River Basin. The plant design process is a sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
version of the activated sludge process with a design capacity of 3.5 million gallon/day. The plant consists
of the following unit processes, automatic band screen, vortex grit removal, 150 hp triplex influent pump
station, 2 SBR basins with a capacity of 1.694 mg each, 0.468 mg of flow equalization, 0.1508 mg of
chlorination contact capacity and d-chlorination and reaeration facilities.
A plant upgrade was completed in 2011 and the facility is currently operating well within permit limits.
Additionally, the plant continues to treat wastes generated by septic tank pumpers in Jackson County as
well as portable toilet services provided during construction of any homes or businesses in the county.
These services to the total geographic area of the county significantly impact the facilities sludge
management operations.
During the 2021 calendar year the following violations of the NPDES Permit for the facility were
recorded.
Permit Violation- Fecal Coliform
(cfu/100mls)
8/23 995
8/24 6400
8/25 50
8/26 345
8/27 286
Weekly Geometric Mean 500.5 Permit Limit- 400 cfu/100mls
Permit Violation- Fecal Coliform
(cfu/100mls)
8/30 15800
8/31 2300
9/1 6000
9/2 7333
9/3 610
9/4 76
Weekly Geometric Mean 2050 Permit Limit- 400 cfu/100mls
Permit Violation- BOD
(mg/l)
8/30 174
8/31 11.9
9/1 13.7
9/2 14.7
9/3 14.5
Weekly Avg. 45.8 Permit Limit- 45 mg/l/100mls
Permit Violation- Fecal Coliform
(cfu/100mls)
10/4 10300
10/5 613
10/6 6000
10/7 10600
10/8 116
10/9 270
Weekly Geometric Mean 1525 Permit Limit- 400 cfu/100mls
These violations resulted from two different factors. A breakdown of the dryer used to process sludge
th
occurred June 16, 2021. The parts to repair the dryer were to arrive within 10 days but were not received
rd
until the 23 of August. These 68 days of an inability to move sludge from the process at the facility
resulted in high levels of sludge retained in the system. These high levels caused inefficient settling in the
SBR.s resulting in solids carryover into the effluent. This condition makes it much more difficult to
disinfect.
It should be noted that the TWSA Plant #1 treats sludge from the other three Authority owned facilities as
well as the septage that is generated by residences in Jackson Co. and that is hauled to the TWSA #1
facility by private septage haulers.
The residuals generated by these other sources were accommodated at the TWSA Plant #1 during the dryer
down time, resulting in no non-compliance conditions at the other facilities owned by the Authority and
no work stoppage of private haulers.
The second factor leading to non-compliance was a steady weakening of the strength of the liquid chlorine
stored onsite and a delay in getting a new shipment of chemical. These delays were attributed by the
chemical supplier to a lack of product and a lack of drivers to deliver product.
Summary- Non-compliance at the facility has been largely related to Fecal Coliform. The sludge dryer
being down for repair for an extended period of time contributed greatly to the problem. Supply chain
logistics and shelf life problems with liquid chlorine caused conditions that led to non-compliance.
A soured/malfunctioning SBR happened at a time when normal disinfection was already in jeopardy and
resulted in a lower level of disinfection than normal.
The TWSA staff worked longer and additional hours in an effort to maintain compliance but we were
unfortunately unsuccessful. The facility did not become non-compliant “overnight” and even after repairs
were made to the dryer it took some time to achieve the correct population and makeup of bacteria to
return both SBRs to compliant levels.
The NC Dept. of Environmental Quality was notified of the violations and appropriate Notices of
Violation were issued. Any fines imposed on the facility by DEQ have not yet been issued.
There were no fish kills or other adverse conditions observed in the receiving stream as a result of these
violations.
Some pertinent information on the plant is as follows:
The average daily flow at the facility during the year 2021 was 1.150 mgd. This represents 32.9% of plant
permitted capacity and was a 4.7% decrease from 2020. The highest monthly average in 2021 occurred
in March and was recorded as 1.470 mgd. This represents 42.0% of total plant capacity and was a 15.7%
decrease from 2020. The highest daily flow occurred Mar 21st, 2021 and was recorded as 3.700 mgd.
This represented 106.% of total plant capacity and was a decrease of 17% from the single highest flow
day in 2021. This was the only day during 2021 when the recorded flow was greater than plant capacity.
Total sludge production was calculated from the amount of sludge processed on the belt filter press. These
residuals totaled 3,960,525 gals of sludge and were calculated at 362.23 dry tons. This represents all of
the sludge generated by the Authority’s facilities during 2021. When the sludge production of the other
plants the Authority operates is subtracted from this total, it is estimated that the TWSA Plant #1 facility
produced 336.73 dry tons of sludge during 2021. This was 93.0% of the total amount of sludge produced
by the facilities operated by the Authority during 2021. This sludge is dried to meet EPA and NCDENR
regulations and is made available for distribution to the public as a soil amendment. There were approx.
253.1 tons of dried residuals distributed to the public during 2021.
On average, there was a 98.1% reduction in the amount of pollutants in the water after treatment.
st
The permit for this facility was renewed and became effective August 1, 2019 and will expire at midnight
on October 31, 2023.
2021
MonthlyPerformance
Summary of Wastewater
Plant Operations
TWSA Plant # 1
(NC0039578)
Flow Inf Bod EFF BOD
Month mgd mg/l mg/l %
(Limit, 3.500
mgd) (Limit, 30 mg/l) reduction
January 1.139 200.0 4.1 98.0
February 1.241 219.0 4.6 97.9
March 1.470 231.0 8.5 96.3
April 1.257 229.0 8.9 96.1
May 1.064 333.0 13.8 95.9
June 0.905 272.0 < 3.5 98.7
July 0.939 268.0 < 2.8 99.0
August 1.255 266.0 < 19.9 92.5
September 1.273 291.0 12.9 95.8
October 1.285 253.0 10.2 96.0
November 1.055 288.0 6.7 97.8
December 0.926 285.0 6.5 97.7
avg. 1.151 261.3 < 8.5 96.8
Inf TSS EFF TSS Fecal Coliform
Month mg/l mg/l % per 100 ml
(Limit, 30 mg/l) reduction (Limit, 200/100 mls)
January 283.0 < 2.9 99.0 < 8
February 315.0 < 5.2 98.3 < 9
March 329.0 < 2.9 99.1 < 10
April 287.0 < 2.5 99.1 < 5
May 419.0 3.9 99.1 10
June 343.0 < 2.7 99.2 < 8
July 362.0 < 2.7 99.3 < 6
August 351.0 4.3 98.8 36
September 391.0 4.1 99.0 < 129
October 436.0 < 4.5 99.0 < 73
November 384.0 < 2.7 99.3 < 6
December 386.0 < 3.5 99.1 <9
avg. 357.2 < 3.5 99.0 < 26
NPDES #NC 0039578
TWSA Plant # 1 Daily FlowsYearly Monthly Avg.1.151
20132021Yearly Daily Avg.1.150
Permitted Flow- 3.5mgdYearly Daily Max3.700
DateJan '21Feb '21Mar '21Apr '21May '21Jun '21July '21Aug '21Sep '21Oct '21Nov '21Dec '21
11.2081.2251.0682.0830.9220.7780.9381.0051.5711.1440.6460.923
21.7401.2501.5201.9981.0190.9220.8170.6352.2801.3441.1811.254
31.3821.1161.2531.2631.0051.0220.8640.9621.4500.9791.1570.872
40.7281.2171.2811.2411.4760.8500.8140.8541.1970.8021.4351.282
51.0681.1911.1351.1142.0301.1970.7531.2911.4281.4711.1300.964
61.0591.0041.3041.2372.2360.7850.7941.0071.2261.3641.0180.832
71.1031.1130.9391.3281.6830.7500.7921.1061.1671.8231.0411.085
81.0671.1130.7641.6101.0180.9620.9020.9091.2832.6831.0421.050
91.1461.1011.0451.3710.5120.8690.7660.6921.3542.5321.1581.051
101.0401.1541.0731.1410.7691.0891.1740.9611.1941.6901.1790.920
110.8651.0531.0371.2431.2480.9330.8230.8011.3311.1991.1241.255
121.1201.2481.0211.2541.0930.8670.6991.1401.2591.5571.0761.008
131.0091.6631.1161.4321.2550.9290.8910.9580.6831.3341.5860.788
141.0861.5781.0111.2181.0710.8170.8830.7411.2321.5111.0491.116
150.9521.1220.8591.2501.2830.9340.9021.1641.1561.2980.7481.001
160.8781.4563.1741.1990.8930.8890.8681.5871.2731.0621.1311.130
170.9761.4541.6681.5210.8070.9561.0301.7591.1431.0011.1320.907
180.9301.3671.8081.0801.0590.7850.7582.6841.4430.8951.3110.879
190.9901.7082.1240.8590.9241.0860.8052.7371.2781.0430.9430.981
201.1461.4321.3781.1821.0420.8321.0761.7410.9181.0791.2530.873
211.1521.0381.3081.1610.8620.6080.8691.9321.3961.0761.0180.924
221.1581.1161.1941.2290.7970.9860.9051.3671.2701.0050.8130.760
231.2881.1721.3391.1640.8061.1610.8491.0301.6061.1681.1790.961
241.2341.1091.3671.3050.8011.0160.7571.4031.3010.9490.9720.790
250.8251.1621.2971.0850.8730.8550.8921.2790.9430.6791.1900.733
261.5401.0741.9690.8590.8991.0541.1781.3141.0611.2480.7860.626
271.9921.2103.7001.1620.8750.8341.8161.1640.9431.0280.6670.604
281.1891.3051.7961.0770.7370.6631.2401.4601.3311.2500.7810.556
291.2121.7161.1441.2550.8661.0571.0641.2231.1000.8860.970
301.2531.7540.9000.8990.8620.9730.9771.2561.3221.0120.534
310.9781.5400.8231.2241.1901.1961.063
AVERAGE1.1391.2411.4701.2571.0640.9050.9391.2551.2731.2851.0550.926
MAXIMUM1.9921.7083.7002.0832.2361.1971.8162.7372.2802.6831.5861.282
MINIMUM0.7281.0040.7640.8590.5120.6080.6990.6350.6830.6790.6460.534
The annual report of the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority Wastewater operations is available to the
public for review at the central offices located at 1246 West Main St. Sylva, NC 28779.
Notification of the availability of this report has been made to the customers or users of these facilities
through advertisements in the print media located in the geographic area the Authority serves.
I certify under penalty of law that this report is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I
further certify that this report has been made available to the user or customers of the named system and
that those users have been notified of its availability.
Stan Bryson Dated: 1/27/22
Wastewater Plant Operations Supt.
Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority