Yue has 25 years of experience focused on drinking water/wastewater facility design, treatment process selection, bench scale and pilot studies, plant operation optimization, water quality control and management, and regulatory monitoring and compliance. She has been instrumental in the delivery of key water and wastewater infrastructure improvements projects throughout Texas. Her responsibilities include project planning, design management and coordination, construction delivery. Yue received her M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech and she is a professional engineer registered in Texas and Florida and a board certified environmental engineer. Yue has presented more than 40 presentations at local and national conferences

Experiencing rapid population growth, a Texas water utility is expanding its  surface water treatment plant from 17 million-gallon-per-day (mgd)  to 30 mgd, with an ultimate build-out capacity of 75 mgd. The project funding will be supported from Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) fund.

The current treatment process consists of coagulation with aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH), direct membrane filtration using low pressure submerged membranes, and chlorine disinfection. Liquid ammonium sulfate is used for secondary disinfection to maintain residual disinfectant in the distribution system.

The planning of the water plant expansion project began in summer 2020 and the following were identified as the project challenges:

• Zebra mussels in the raw water resulted in damage to plant infrastructure and process equipment and led to replacement of membrane equipment;
• Raw water quality fluctuation has posed treatment challenges to maintain a steady performance from membrane filtration;
• Retrofitting membranes within the existing basins for the expansion and maintenance of plant operation during construction is critical to the project success;
• Accelerated project schedule to meet the delivery deadline; and
• Design interface and demarcation with other ongoing capital improvement projects.

This presentation will discuss the above project challenges and innovative solutions to address these challenges:

• Use of an on-site copper ion generator system for zebra mussel control;
• Incorporation of a pretreatment process that involves flocculation and high-rate plant settlers to provide steady feed water quality to membrane;
• Optimizing disinfection by providing a dedicated disinfection contact basin to control DBP and enhance disinfection CT compliance;
• Membrane retrofit specifics (two-step procurement process, piloting, 3D model design tool, and key regulatory reviews and construction implication)
• A well-thought-out construction staging and sequencing plan that outlines major construction activities during each stage, potential impacts on plant operation, to minimize process interruption during construction and membranes retrofit;
• Project schedule optimization strategies to address current market volatility including membrane procurement, prepurchase of major electrical equipment, contractor community outreach, and engagement of state regulatory agencies throughout design;
• Collaborative design coordination with other ongoing CIP projects to provide cohesive design and seamless delivery.

The project challenges and solutions presented will provides valuable information and experience to share with other utilities to achieve similar project goals.