What we're teaching today

January 26, 2022

Attendees at today's Snowball Conference in Kearney, Nebraska, will have the opportunity to catch not one but two of our educational presentations for credit toward license renewal. The first presentation is perennial favorite "Cavitation 101", which explores in-depth the causes and effects of pump cavitation -- as well as how to distinguish the effects of cavitation from other sources of mischief, like air entrainment, abrasive wear, and chemical attack. The second presentation is newer, but earned good reviews at its introduction last fall: Throttling Blowers with Valves and VFDs. We like to call it "You Can't Control Me!". Considering the growing interest in energy efficiency across all parts of the economy, plus the impact that higher energy efficiency can have on important issues like carbon emissions, the information we present is well worth noting. Aeration consumes a big chunk of the energy at most wastewater facilities, if not a majority of it. Aerating wisely can save meaningful amounts of electricity, and implementing automatic controls can have an extremely quick payback period.