Emergency Biosolids Management in the Wake of Super Storm Sandy – a Study of the Collaborative Operations at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission WWTP

Super Storm Sandy left tremendous devastation in her wake along the northeast US corridor, creating an estimated $62 billion in damages – a number that could increase. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, and the ripple of the tremendous infrastructure damages will be felt for years to come. Wastewater treatment plants, primarily in northern New Jersey and Long Island, were among the hardest hit, adding to the states of emergency in both New Jersey and New York. Massive storm surges brought estimated 6-12 foot walls of water into coastal wastewater treatment plants, shutting down power, damaging the pumps, treatment systems, and processes in place to manage and treat wastewater. Among the hardest hit was the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission in Newark, NJ, the fifth largest wastewater treatment plant in the country, rated at 330 Million gallons per day average daily flow. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission WWTP is also home to the largest liquid biosolids receiving and processing (merchant) facility on the east coast, which was forced to cease their receiving operations in the wake of the storm. The interruption in service negatively affected more than 40 water and wastewater treatment plants in the region that rely on the plant for safely managing their biosolids programs.Synagro, working in close cooperation with the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission management, FEMA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, USEPA, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and other agencies expeditiously collaborated to establish a mobile dewatering program at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission site, enabling the facility to continue operations while preventing overflows and adverse impacts to the nearby Passaic River.