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California Corrections Institute Tehacahpi, CA

The Problem

The CCI operates a state prison in Tehachapi. The prison’s wastewater treatment plant was undersized for the prison and needed an upgrade. In the winter of 2008, the state put out an RFP to construction contractors. Part of the job would be to remove the wastewater sludge out of the prison’s lagoons prior to decommissioning. As with most construction jobs, time was of the essence and a reliable subcontractor would be needed to remove the wastewater sludge in a timely and professional manner.

The P&H Senesac Solution

Eventually, the CCI awarded the job to Cushman Contracting Corporation (CCC). We worked extensively with CCC to formulate a plan of action that would get construction underway as quickly as possible. We settled on a plan to pump two of the smaller lagoons into one of the larger lagoons. This strategy allowed them to begin their work sooner.

By mid-summer 2008, we moved our Maximus System into the prison and began dewatering the condensed lagoon on site. Since the dewatered biosolids were slated for compost, we brought in a trash scalper and degritting machine to remove as much of the inorganic waste as possible. During the course of the summer, fuel prices skyrockedted to $5.00/gallon, placing a high priority on getting the solids as dry as possible. We successfully dewatered the biosolids 5% higher than expectations, resulting in considerable cost savings.

We finished the first phase of the lagoon clean-out by October 2008 and caused no delays in the construction of the plant. In January 2009, the CCI contacted P&H Senesac to do surveys and sludge estimates for the second phase lagoons. The second phase was started at the end of December, 2009 and completed at the beginning of February,  2010.  In this six week span, P&H Senesac cleaned a staggering 484 dry tons of solids out of the lagoon.