SAWS Clouse WRC Primary and Secondary Expansion

Garver is working with SAWS on a $200 million capital improvement project at the Steven M. Clouse Water Recycling Center (SMCWRC), which is SAWS’ largest WRC that serves San Antonio and surrounding areas. This project is the first capital improvement project that SAWS will undertake following the completion of the 2020 SAWS Master Plan, that was developed by Garver. According to the 2020 SAWS Master Plan, the SMCWRC is expected to undergo significant growth within the considered planning horizon. The project will increase capacity and improve energy efficiency and hydraulics.

The 2020 Master Plan determined that flows to the facility are projected to increase to 128 MGD on an average basis and 396 MGD on a peak two-hour basis by 2050. Therefore, the capacity of the existing primary clarifiers, aeration basins, and settling tanks will be expanded to meet the 2050 flow and load requirements. The existing positive displacement blowers will be replaced to meet the current and future air demands for an effective aeration process and improved energy efficiency.

Additionally, the SCADA and electrical systems associated with aeration and the blowers will be upgraded, along with improvements to system automation, controls, and instrumentation to optimize performance of the primary and secondary facilities.

While the design will not include nutrient removal technologies, it will look for opportunities to accommodate future changes for biological nutrient removal. The design process will utilize both computational fluid dynamics modeling and GeoSLAM technology to analyze the existing and proposed structures, accurately map the existing infrastructure and environment, and determine an optimized wastewater flow split.