Thomas D. Valle, P.E. was one of fifty attendees from across the country at the 2007 Siemens Water Academy held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 18th through 19th, 2007. Siemens water professionals presented in-depth presentations on the following wastewater treatment topics:

  • Biological Nutrient Removal – How Does it Work?
  • Orbal and VLR Design – What is Aerated Anoxic and how to maximize nitrification/denitrification with lower aeration costs.
  • AGAR (Attached Growth Airlift Reactor) Process – How the IFAS system can be used to retrofit existing activated sludge plants.
  • High Performance Clarification – design of new and retrofitting existing clarifiers to achieve increased mass loading rates.
  • Filtration Systems.
  • Cannibal Solids Reduction Process – Process Overview, Case Studies and Cost Analysis versus other solids handling processes.
  • Membrane Biological Reactors – What is an MBR, how does it work and why is it important during design process. Built in place and packaged systems were both discussed.
  • Overview of Siemens “Flowsheet Solutions”, Customer Tools and the Product Standardization Initiative.

Two of the presenters were George Smith and Bill Boyle who each have over 40 years of experience in the design of wastewater systems. The Academy provided a wealth of information regarding the design and streamlining of all phases of the wastewater treatment process.