Building Your First Wastewater Treatment Plant: 9 Hidden Costs

Introduction

Small or large - wastewater treatment plants face complex challenges. From agreeing to proper design criteria and calculating effluent permit compliance to dealing with challenging footprint allowances and tackling chemical dosing efficiencies - it can be difficult. But nothing is more difficult than the pain of going over budget.

Hidden costs are only hidden if you are not informed about them. But how can you know what you do not know unless you ask? And how can you ask if you do not know what to ask for? So, here are the top costs outside the equipment expenses that will help you prepare that budget like a pro.

The Top 9 Hidden Costs

1. Energy Consumption
   Your bids should list the equipment and estimated energy consumption for calculating usage costs.
2. Chemical Consumption
   Your bids should list the suggested chemicals and volumes for calculating your treatment costs. pH adjustment, flocculation, coagulation, nutrient feeding, thickening, descaling, anti-foam, and cleaning agents for CIP stations may or may not be needed in your design depending on what equipment is being used.
3. Maintenance & Repairs
   It is no secret. Your pumps get abused more than anything and will need the most attention. Some pumps are rebuilt every few years or so and others are replaced all together. Planning for this and having the materials on hand are essential to keeping OpEx in check.
4. Sludge Management
   Sludge disposal, influenced by volume and regulatory requirements, is a major expense. You are either paying a vacuum truck to come and haul off your sludge or you are dewatering onsite and hauling cake off to the landfill. The general rule of thumb for when you should invest in onsite dewatering is ~ $20,000 in monthly expenses. After considering the CapEx in a screw press, a polymer makedown unit for dripping in a thickener, a mezzanine for elevating the press, a couple extra sludge transfer pumps, and some roll off containers along with the polymer costs and energy usage, $20,000 is when ROIs get within two budget cycles.
5. Compliance & Surcharges
   Avoid fines. Exceeding discharge limits usually leads to surcharges or even production halts. Working with companies like Ecologix gives you confidence in the design and build of a system with a comfortable margin in the effluent values and a robust capacity for planned growth.
6. Freight
   This is a fluctuating cost and highly dependent on distance. Ecologix is on the northern edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. A high-end ballpark is $10,000 per flatbed anywhere in the USA. The closer the cheaper.
7. Onsite Engineering Support
   More often than not, you will need support engineers onsite to commission the final build, start the flow with your team, dial in the chemistry, and train your staff on the proper use and maintenance of their new plant. Expect at least two engineers and a minimum of five-man days each. Larger plants and more complicated builds will add to the time needed.
8. Installation
   Small equals less expensive, but even small plants need professional installation. A crane or potentially larger lifts to offload the equipment and place it. Locally licensed plumber to pipe it up. Locally licensed electrician to bring power to it. For larger plants we might need to go below grade, pour concrete, bring in local welders, and build huge tanks and even buildings. Need a rough order of magnitude and don't need a super accurate quote? Use 80% of your total equipment costs as a close enough ballpark cost to install.

Ecologix Cost-Saving Solutions

At Ecologix we design, build, and install wastewater treatment plants with no hidden costs. Big or small, we will help you plan your operations, ensure regulatory compliance, and write a perfect wastewater treatment plant budget the first time.

Contact Us Today

To discuss your wastewater treatment needs, please give us a call or email.