Wastewater Treatment Plant Odor Control – Satisfying a Neighborhood Concern

How important is odor control to an ethnic, urban community that is located in the middle of a mixed residential, commercial and light industrial community? It is extremely important to one community in the Greenpoint section of the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City where the views across the adjacent East River highlight the tall skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan. One of the community’s most intimate neighbors, indicating the lack of a buffer zone between them, is the largest wastewater treatment plant in New York City, the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (Newtown Creek). This plant, managed by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), treats an average dry weather wastewater flow of 310 million gallons per day (mgd) (49,000 cubic meters per hour, m³/h), and a peak wet weather flow of 700 mgd (110,000 m³/h). Due to the age of the facility and the inability to meet upcoming federal and state effluent wastewater discharge standards, Newtown Creek had to undergo a complete facility upgrade while maintaining treatment at current levels. As a result, the upgrade would take more than ten years to complete, and the community was deeply concerned that they would be subject to nuisance odors along with other nuisance related issues throughout construction and beyond. Recognizing that they would have to work closely with the community during construction, the DEP initiated an outreach program to keep the community informed and to work out problems that arose. At the same time, the DEP agreed with the community to build a Nature Walk along part of the Plant boundary and a Visitor’s Center on-site. Each of these community desired facilities acted to bring the residents even closer to the workings of the wastewater treatment plant, thereby reducing any buffer that may have existed, and to the realization that wastewater and the systems that are needed to treat it are not nuisance odor free.This paper will discuss the necessary steps that were undertaken by the DEP to reduce the potential off-site impact of plant related nuisance odors. The DEP has strived to be a “Good Neighbor” throughout the construction, and with the odor control systems that have been installed, they look to continue to be a “Good Neighbor” after all the dust has settled and the contractors have left the site. The following steps will be discussed:• Odor investigations performed on existing facilities to help estimate the odor potential of the new unit operations.• Air/Odor dispersion modeling to demonstrate compliance with State and local requirements, and to assist in the selection of odor control technology and discharge stack heights.• Methods for capturing and containing the odors at plant process units.• Odor control selection and installation.• Public Outreach Program• Newtown Creek Monitoring Committee• Nature Walk•Visitor’s Center