Scott Air Force Base Case History - LIFT STATION AND SEWER BACK UPS SOLVED

SITUATION:
Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, 25 miles East of downtown St. Louis, Missouri. The base employs 13,000 people, 5,100 civilians with 5,500 active-duty Air Force, and an additional 2,400 Air National Guard and Reserve personnel. The base has 400,000 linear feet of sewer line that services multiple types of dining facilities including mess halls, restaurants, cafeterias and break rooms.

THE PROBLEM: 
The State of Illinois has wastewater treatment permit requirements which regulate the amount of BOD's (biological oxygen demand) and CBOD's (carbonaceous biological oxygen demand) that are present in a sewer system. While Scott AFB was never out of compliance with these regulations, heightened levels of BOD's and CBOD's in lab samples caused infrastructure managers to troubleshoot what was causing these high readings. Managers noted excessive build-up of grease in sewer lines that caused floor drains and restaurant drains to back up.

THE SOLUTION:
John Young, Chief of Infrastructure for Scott AFB, noted that the base had switched from State Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer to a substitute brand. This new brand wasn't able to perform well enough to keep the drain lines open and lift stations clean. Combined with State PrimeZyme™ to treat the toughest grease build ups, Ecolution Drain Line Maintainer is distributed in to the sewer system on State’s time-release 24/7™ automatic pump, upstream from lift stations. The combination of the PrimeZyme and Ecolution Drain Line Maintainer begin the breakdown of organic material before it gets to the lift station. The State solution has kept wastewater flowing through the system and virtually eliminated back ups.

THE RESULT:
Time invested in sewer line maintenance has decreased dramatically. The frequency of sewer line trouble calls were significantly reduced, and lab sample test readings are consistently within acceptable ranges.

BENEFITS:
"I am relieved to know that we can get back to minimal maintenance." According to Young, "Ecolution® not only treats unwanted grease in our sewer lines but it also pre-treats waste before it gets to our wastewater treatment facility – improving efficiency and test results to keep us compliant with the State."