Four Purdue University School of Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE) senior students for school year 2017-2018 are studying alternatives for the needed capacity expansion at the Westfield wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
Citizens Westfield Wastewater operates the wastewater utilities at Westfield, Indiana, which is a suburb north of Indianapolis, and experiencing rapid population growth that is projected to continue in the future. With this rise in population also comes an increase in wastewater generated.
As a result, the Purdue EEE team has been tasked to work with Citizens Energy Group CP&E Plant Engineering group to develop multiple expansion options to increase the flow capacity of the Westfield WWTP.
The expansion requires the plant to be raised from its current capacity of 3 million gallons a day (MGD), to 6 MGD. The four main objectives that define the parameters of this expansion are:
- Increase the overall flow capacity of the Westfield site.
- Create an economically viable construction plan that will limit any potential increases in costs for consumers.
- Remain within the discharge permit compliance limits.
- Keep the design compatible with a potential expansion in the near future, which would bring capacity of the plant up to 12 MGD.
