Tag Archives: US Chicago

XXL – New Combined Stormwater Overflow Reservoir in Chicago

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XXL Combined Stormwater Overflow Detention "Tank" sorry it is a reservoir

XXL Combined Stormwater Overflow Detention “Tank” sorry it is a reservoir. See the in and outlet in the back

In and Outlet for the stormwater - start will be in one month from now

In and Outlet for the stormwater – start will be in one month from now

CSO Chicago starting 2017, XXXL size, never seen before

CSO Chicago starting 2017, XXXL size, never seen before

What a scale of projects. I have seen the second largest combined stormwater overflow detention tank in Europe in Munich which has the size of two scoccer places. The new  CSOs in Chicago is from a different star. One will be ready in one month and the second one will be ready, after 10 years of construction, in 2017.

These two big open reservoirs will serve the City of Chicago and will hopefully prevent the city by beeing flooded by heavy rainfalls. 40-50 storms a year occur. The deep tunnel project releases the normal sewer system and takes all overflows down into the ground. The length is about 150 km. The deapest  point are the XXL Pumping Stations. There the water gets pumped up and gets treated.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

XXL – Sludge treatment drying beds in Chicago

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Dry beds in Chicago - ready for agricultural use

Drying beds in Chicago – ready for agricultural use

Dry beds - heavy machines are at work

Drying beds – heavy machines are at work

Wastewater Sludge is storaged in big drying beds. Heavy machines are in action and the dried sludge is used in agriculture after certain time.

Again the the size is impressing. Germany has 9500 Wastewater Treatment Plants but certainly not that size for drying beds, we just do not have the space for that.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

XXL – Pumping Station in Chicago

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120 m deap pumping station for the intake to the Wastewater Treatment Plant

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American technical language is a challenge for the German guests

XXL Pumping Station & Sewer System - deep tunnel system, 9 meter diameter, 150 km long

XXL Pumping Station & Sewer System – deep tunnel system, 9 meter diameter, 150 km long

A nice day out. Ed and Joseph, incharged of the sewer system of Great Chicago showed us a XXL big pumping station at Calumet Water Reclamation Plant. 120 under the ground. A 9 meter pipe comes in and the wastewater has to be pumped a 120 meter higher to the wastewater treatment plant. One of the 7 plants serving 10 Mio. people in the region.

What a show. US dimentions are bigger than at home. A great experience, and nice collegeus. Joseph even talked a brilliant German and explaint a lot.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

Coaching the German Wastewater Team for WEFTEC 2015 Chigago

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WEFTEC Training in Düsseldorf June 2015

WEFTEC Training in Düsseldorf June 2015

In June 2015 two German Wastewater Teams met in Duesseldorf to train for the WEFTEC Operators Challenge in September 2015 in Chigago/USA.

DWA has good relations to the US based Water Evironmental Federation (WEF). Last year I visited them during my holidays. This year the CEO Eileen visited us in Hennef. We agreed that I would try to get one team over to the annual Operators Challenge and the year later one US Team would come to the IFAT 2016.

Now I could get two teams, one from the city of Duesseldorf and one “All Star Team” from the cities Duesseldorf, Bonn and Nuernberg.  The Duesseldorf Team is a team with young professionals where the All Star Team is more senior. They all work in wastewater utilities and are excellend people. Most of them pay the flights themself  and take holidays for this trip.

To travel to the US skills competition is something special and all members are exited, so do I. I´m the coach and translater. We will have a competion with 44 Teams – it is the first time that a German Team visits the WEFTEC. I have been to the WEFTEC 2013 in New Orleans and I saw there competition already. I´m looking forward to this nice experience and let us have fun and to learn from each other.

Thanks to the IFAT Munich who help us as the main sponsor for one team and thanks to the City of Duesseldorf to send their Young Team and to enable us to have this training done.

See also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzxW49vBRWc and watch the Training.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht