Hydrodynamic Separator - TerreKleen 45 is now capturing sediment, trash and debris at N. Lake Carmel, NY

This was a very exciting day!  The effectiveness of the TerreKleen hydrodynamic separator for capturing sediment, trash and debris is well known and these units are widely used in VA, MD, PA, NJ and DE.  As the representative for TerreHill Stormwater Systems in New York and New England, Stormwaterworks.com was  thrilled to see our first installation of a TerreKleen in New York State!  What made this day even more exciting is that the unit is a TK45 - the largest unit we have ever seen installed.

 This is a picture of the jobsite.  The N. Lake Carmel community is mainly residential, however, there is A LOT of traffic.  I took this picture to give you an idea of how small the work area is.  A shoring box is hidden behind the orange netting - this is where the TerreKleen is going to be installed.

This picture is looking down into the hole that has been dug for the TerreKleen.  It is important that the gravel in the bottom is level.  Since this is a lakeside community, there is a high water table and you can see that some mud has creeped into the hole.  The mud will be cleaned before the TerreKleen is positioned in place.

 

 This image shows the base of the TerreKleen as it is being maneuvered into place.  It just takes the crane operator a few minutes to lift the base off the flatbed truck and position the base in the hole.  

This is the base of the TerreKleen.  You can see the manifold system (white bars and red hose on the left side of the unit) are designed to assist in cleaning the unit.  Notice the white socks on the right side of the unit designed to collect oil.

Next, the middle section or "riser", is positioned into place with the crane.  This picture shows the stacked inclined plates on the left side of the unit.  This is where all of the fine particle separation takes place.  Stacked inclined plate technology was developed in 1905 and has been widely used in the drinking water industry around the world ever since.  The Terrekleen merely adapts this proven technology and widely accepted engineering practice for the storm water industry.  The riser is made to fit ontop of the base.  It takes just a few minutes to get this piece into place.

The lid is placed on top of the TerreKleen.  This lid incorporates 3 manhole covers for cleanout as well as a catch basin grate.  This unit will function as the last catch basin in the line and will provide 3 other access points to aid in cleanout.

This TerreKleen unit was installed in about an hour.  The TerreKleen will contain trash, oil and sediments until the units are cleaned out.  No scour or re-suspension of collected material happens because of the design of the TerreKleen.

Stay tuned - we have an additional installation in North Lake Carmel that will be posting shortly.  We are excited to help keep North Lake Carmel clean!

TerreKleen Hydrodynamic Separator installation in Kent, NY at N. Lake Carmel this week!

Coming up this week... the installation of a TerreKleen TK45 hydrodynamic separator in Kent, NY at North Lake Carmel!  Took the day Friday to visit the installation site in Kent, NY.  

The TerreKleen being installed is going to capture trash, sediment, oils, and prevent them from traveling into North Lake Carmel.    

TK45 is capable of treating large flows and will improve the water quality that flows into North Lake Carmel.  Stay tuned for installation pictures later this week!

TerreKleen Hydrodynamic Separator (water quality treatment vault) Inspection

Wow - what a great week!  We had our first post installation inspection of the TerreKleen hydrodynamic separators that we installed in Stamford back in November.  I thought these pictures quickly and easily tell the whole story:

The first picture shows the trash that is contained in the TerreKleen.  This trash will be trapped here until these units are maintained/cleaned out.

With trash and debris trapped in the primary chamber of the TerreKleen, this second picture shows the "working" section of the unit.  Stormwater  travels through a screen and onto

the stacked inclined plates (you can see the plates on the right side of the picture).  These plates help smaller sediments fall out.

The TerreKleen design is based on solid engineering principals developed by Allen Hazen in 1905.  This technology was developed to separate sediments from water in the drinking water industry.  The effectiveness of stacked inclined plates (Lamella plates) is well known and recognized as more than 100 years later, this technology is still widely used for sediment separation in the drinking water industry.  The TerreKleen has simply adapted this technology to efficiently separate sediments from storm water runoff.

Here is brief information about Allen Hazen , his education at MIT, his career, contributions and impact on the water industry.  Here is a link to some of his published works.

Another benefit to this client? TerreKleen maintenance / cleanout will NOT require confined space entry!

It feels good to know that this trash has been prevented from littering Long Island Sound this summer.

If you have questions about the TerreKleen, hydrodynamic separation, particle size distribution, trash control or stacked inclined (Lamella) plates, feel free to give us a call!

TerreArch Installation Video released on Youtube!

TerreArch is THE choice for discerning clients needing HS-25, just in time, storm water storage and infiltration.  Install 50,000 cubic feet of storage with back-fill and cover in just one day.  See an installation in this exciting video just released on Youtube.

TerreArch may benefit your jobsite with:

1- Quick and easy installation (install up to 50,000 cubic feet of storm water storage in one day)

2- HS-25 structural pieces arrive just in time

3- No time wasted staging and re-staging material

4- No small parts to lose, put together or break

5- Available in 26" and 48" height

6- With minimal stone cover, surface is immediately drivable and job site is accessible

7- May reduce footprint

8- Installation is quick and requires minimal crew

9- Cost effective

Special thanks to Leroy Brisk for video expertise and assistance.

TerreKleen Hydrodynamic Separator - installation video online!

It has been an exciting and busy time!  Tradeshow season has started and we have been on the road reaching out to engineers and contractors demonstrating the TerreKleen and showing them why the TerreKleen is the obvious hydrodynamic separator of choice for current and upcoming projects.

• Some like that the TerreKleen has the largest sedimentation surface area in the smallest area footprint
• Others like that confined space entry is not needed for clean out
• Still others concerned with better water quality appreciate all of the water is treated and that there is no scour or re-suspension of collected material from the TerreKleen.
• Still others like the effectiveness of stacked inclined plates (technology developed and still widely used after 80+ years in the drinking water industry) for particle separation
• Many seem to like that the TerreKleen is designed to meet the goals of the project 
• Others like that TerreKleen can be easily customized for any project
• Some are intent on the NJCAT/NJDEP certifications
• Others are impressed by the dedication to using and the enthusiasm for the TerreKleen by our past and current clients
• Finally, some like the ease of installation.  
•  
• We posted this video to show an installation of two TerreKleen Hydrodynamic Separator (water quality treatment vaults) at a large big box mall site in PA.  The two TerreKleens in this video handle a peak flow of 350 cfs and eliminated 5 other stormwater structures on this site saving the contractor close to $200,000.00

If you have a project that requires a storm water quality vault, give us a call and let us show you how the TerreKleen would work in your project.

I LOVE New York!!!

Last weekend I drove to Rochester, NY which was a trip that took about six hours to drive.  I don't usually travel that far, and I was unaware how beautiful the drive would be.  Of course I started my trip stuck in traffic and the traffic congestion continued until I got on to Route 17.  But it wasn't long before I was driving along and enjoying the countryside.  

It seemed that every mile or so I was on an overpass driving over a river, stream or brook and for the first time I saw fly fishing - guys up to their chests in the water looking for their next big catch.  

After I had been driving for about three hours, I saw a sign near Binghampton that said "Entering the Chesapeake Bay Watershed".  I had no idea the watershed was that big!

As the drive continued, I saw lots of farms, hay, cattle and even some wild life.  Everything was getting ready for Spring. 

By the time I got to Syracuse, I was asking myself  "are we there yet?"  The trip started to get really long.   After I passed Syracuse, I learned that I was in the Finger Lakes Wine Country - really cool!   Just another hour or so when I saw the sign announcing "Erie Canal"    YES!  Getting closer!

I felt very lucky that I have a friend that lives in Rochester and I had a day to check out the city.  What a great city!  We went for a nice walk and actually did get a chance to check out the canal.  It is mostly used for pleasure, rather than cargo these days and I was surprised to see that the canal was in draw-down during the winter.  As we walked along the canal, we started hearing fish jumping in the canal.  At a point, I could swear we saw a carp breaching in the water.  (The water was REALLY shallow).  What a nice city!  One disturbing point, my friend told me that during the summer, the beaches on Lake Ontario are often closed due to pollution.  

Lots of great restaurants in Rochester and it was a very manageable city as it was easy to get around.  I am looking forward to my next trip to Rochester!

 

Article: Nitrogen Pollution Crisis in Westchester

Was out and about today and this headline "Nitrogen Pollution is Choking Westchester" grabbed my attention.  I've never seen The Westchester Guardian newspaper before, but this issue, Thursday, April 15, 2010 had an in-depth 2 page article about Nitrogen Pollution (the history, causes, dead-zones, an example of how nitrogen has taken its toll on a lake in Westchester, and a map detailing dead zones caused by nitrogen around the globe.)  Very interesting article with references to further research and numbers to take action on nitrogen pollution.  The newspaper in PDF format will download with this link