The Riviera Utilities Wastewater Treatment Facility provides additional treatment capacity to accommodate future growth and regulatory demands. The facility’s receiving stream, Wolf Creek, discharges into Wolf Bay, which is classified as an Alabama Outstanding Waterway. Given the limited size of the site, aerobic granular sludge technology was selected to produce the same effluent quality as an enhanced biological nutrient removal facility while requiring less space. The three-basin AGS biological system operates with a tertiary filtration process that acts as a physical barrier for the removal of suspended solids and bound nutrients. Sludge thickening, a complete reuse water pump station with a 9,000-gallon hydro-pneumatic tank and a septage receiving station were also incorporated. 

Photo by Aqua-Aerobic Systems

The facility is the first full-scale installation of this technology in the U.S. The process has reduced power consumption at the facility by approximately 40% while also expanding capacity. The construction sequence included three phases to allow for the continued processing of wastewater and discharge into the receiving stream.