Lombardo Associates, Inc.

Representative Nitrogen Removal
Project Descriptions
Cluster Applications

 Malibu, CA Mashpee, MA Eastham, MA Chincoteague, VA
 Newport, NC

Producing Water Meeting CA Title 22 Unrestricted Water Reuse Standards
Achieving Total Nitrogen < 2 mg/l and Turbidity <1 NTU
Project:

Malibu Village Plaza
Shopping Plaza

Design Flow: 16,000 gpd High Strength
Equivalent to ~40,000 gpd
Residential Strength Wastewater
System – approximately 200
homes
Client:Malibu Creek Preservation Co.
c/o Soboroff Partners

Wastewater
Engineer:Lombardo Associates, Inc.
Malibu, CA & Boston, MA
www.LombardoAssociates.com

Project Description.
The Malibu Village Plaza is a shopping plaza consisting of both retail and commercial businesses. It is locatedin an environmentally sensitive area adjacent to the famous Surfrider Beach in Malibu, California. In 1999 theCalifornia Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB) and the City of Malibu conducted groundwaterand surface water sampling at Malibu Village Plaza and the nearby area and determined that wastewater
discharge from the Plaza and other properties using conventional septic systems were causing groundwaterpollution, which adversely impacted Malibu Creek and Malibu Lagoon.
Lombardo Associates, Inc. (LAI) was retained to engineer a compliant wastewater management system toprotect Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach. The previous system was a conventional system consisting ofgrease traps, septic tanks and gravel drainfields, which provided insufficient nitrogen and bacteria removal.
LAI designed a cost-effective wastewater management
system that employs a septic tank effluent pump
(STEP) collection system and treatment system
consisting of the NitrexTM Nitrogen RemovalTechnology, recirculating media pretreatment of septictank effluent, and an ozone – UV disinfection system forbacteria removal. Treated effluent is discharged to newhigh capacity drainfields. The treatment system wasdesigned to treat 16,000 gpd of the high strength
wastewater (equivalent to ~40,000 gpd of residentialstrength wastewater) as 85% of the flow was from thePlaza’s popular restaurants. Discharge is to a drainfieldat 3 gpd/SF.

Water Quality Data – NitrexTM Wastewater System – Malibu Village Plaza, Malibu, CAThe Malibu Village Plaza Wastewater Treatment System has been operational since July 2007. The
Plaza’s wastewater treatment effluent quality is compliant with permit requirements as well as California
Title 22 unrestricted water reuse requirements as shown on the following table. An additional 125
chemicals are analyzed on a monthly basis. All are within permit requirements. All contaminants ofconcern are below Detection Limits, typically < 5 ppb.
Energy use, 67% of which is for disinfection, of the high strength 16,000 gpd facility (equivalent to 200 250 homes) is approximately $7,400 per year (135 kwhr/day @$0.15). Operation & Maintenancerequirements are weekly visits of 2 – 4 hours for maintenance and sample collection
Malibu CA Nitrex Treatment System Effluent
375 seat restaurants & 26,000 sf Retail Space Shopping Center
Total Nitrogen (mg/l)

Year

Permit Limit

10Annual Geo 3 yr Geo
mean
Mean
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

4.90
1.72
1.90
2.04
2.35

2.23
1.89
2.09

BOD (mg/l)
PermitLimit
Annual Geo
mean
3.04
3.29
2.82
2.74
2.57

30

TSS (mg/l)
PermitLimit

30

Turbidity
PermitLimit

10Enterococcus

Fecal Coliforms

PermitLimit

24Permit
Limit

2003 yrGeo
Mean

AnnualGeo mean

3 yr GeoMean

59.34
73.33
9.17
12.69
5.79

36.2
15.5
9.32

3 yr
3 yr
3 yr
AnnualAnnualAnnualGeo
GeoGeoGeo mean
Geo mean
Geo mean
Mean
Mean
Mean
3.31
1.44
4.74
3.23
0.57
3.73
3.02
2.71
2.98
0.38
0.54
1.97
2.91
2.56
2.81
0.36
0.42
8.08
2.71
2.61
2.63
0.46
0.40
3.74

3.29
4.97
4.79

Cluster System Producing Water with Total Nitrogen 3+/- mg/l

Project:

Main Street Village
Mashpee, MA

Design Flow: 5,226 gpd
Wastewater Pio Lombardo, P.E.
Engineer:Lombardo Associates, Inc.
Boston, MA & Malibu, CA
617-964-2924
Pio@LombardoAssociates.com
www.LombardoAssociates.com

The Main Street Village, in Mashpee, Cape Cod, MA, which has 24 housing units and small commercial
space, was created with a 5,226 gpd design flow, community-sized wastewater treatment system. The
wastewater system is located in a defined nitrogen sensitive area, a Zone II of a public water supply well.
Zone II areas are contributing to a water supply well.
The development is served with Town water and the entire Wastewater System includes a wastewatercollection system, septic tank, and Recirculating Media Biofilter followed by a NitrexTM Filter to reduce
effluent total nitrogen prior to discharge to a drainfield. Permit effluent requirements are TN must be < 10mg/l. The Wastewater System became operational in March 2006.
Mashpee, MA Wastewater System at Completion

Treatment
SystemAfter the start-up period, wastewater effluent TN levels
have generally been < 3 mg/l. Effluent BOD and TSS
are typically < 15 mg/l and < 5 mg/l, respectively.
Operations and Maintenance requirements consist ofpermit required monthly visits for treatment system
performance sampling. Daily electrical consumption
is approximately 5 KWHr, or $0.75/day with electriccosts of $0.15/KWHr. Telephone connection allows
remote monitoring of flow and notification of alarm
conditions. No chemicals and no other utilities arerequired.

Mashpee, MA Performance Summary

Date

Septic Tank
Effluent
Total Nitrogen(mg/l)

Nitrex TM Tank
Effluent
Total Nitrogen(mg/l)

2006 - 2008 Average

48.5

2.8

2007 - 2009 Average

46.2

2.9

2008 - 2010 Average
2009 - 2011 Average

56.2
66.0

2.2
3.0

Period of Record Avg.

54.6

2.84The wastewater treatment technology demonstrates that decentralized distributed wastewater systems can be
as effective as centralized facilities in achieving the accepted limit of technology of TN < 3 mg/l, and is another
tool for wastewater planners and engineers in nitrogen sensitive areas.
The Mashpee project results are similar to independent testing performed in Oregon, Montana, andMassachusetts. The NitrexTM System is an approved technology in a number of States, with installations in
MA, MD, VA, MT, OR, CA and Canada.
Mashpee, MA Wastewater System at Substantial CompletionNitrifying Unit

Denitrifying Filter

Cape Cod Residential Development Producing Water with Total Nitrogen 2 - 3 mg/l
Project:

Brackett Landing, Eastham, MA
40 unit subdivision

Design Flow:

8,310 gpd

Wastewater
Engineer:

Pio Lombardo, P.E.
Lombardo Associates, Inc.
Boston, MA & Malibu, CA
617-964-2924
Pio@LombardoAssociates.com
www.LombardoAssociates.com

Lombardo Associates, Inc. (LAI) provided design-build-operate
services for the wastewater treatment system for the Brackett
Landing development in the Town of Eastham on Cape Cod,MA utilizing the NitrexTM System to achieve nitrogen reduction.
The wastewater system was designed and constructed in accordance with the Town of Eastham Board of Health regulations and theMADEP Title 5 requirements for Total Nitrogen < 10 mg/l. The System has been installed and operational since September 2007. The
performance to date is presented in the following table:
NitrexTM SepticTank

Brackett Landing, Eastham, MA
Nitrex TM Treatment System

NitrexTM
BioFilter

NitrexTM
Denitrifying
FilterNitrexTM Effluent
DateTotal Nitrogen (mg/l)

4 year Geometric Mean

2.17TN % Removal

96.4%
DrainfieldRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM PRODUCING TOTAL NITROGEN < 3 mg/l
Project:

Landing at Water’s Edge
Chincoteague, VA

Design Flow: 3,900 gpd
Wastewater
Engineer:
Pio Lombardo,P.E.
Lombardo Associates, Inc.
Malibu, CA & Boston, MA
617-964-2924
Pio@LombardoAssociates.com
www.LombardoAssociates.com

LAI designed the NitrexTM component of thewastewater treatment and disposal system for theseasonally used Landings at Water’s Edge site in
Chincoteague, VA to reduce total nitrogen to lessthan 10 mg/l in the effluent after pretreatment by arecirculating peat filter aerobic treatment system.
The system is designed for sanitary sewage from aresidential development with approximately 15 units.
The system has been operational since February
2007 and effluent total nitrogen has been <3 mg/l.
The NitrexTM system is virtually maintenance free.
The water quality data is presented below:
Avg.
MonthlyFlow(gpd)

Nitrex TM
Effluent

May-07

2,068

3.17

Jun-07268

Jul-07703

0.20

Sep-07299

2.05

Average514

1.50

DateTN
mg/l

1.10
0.96

Bogue Sound Elementary.
School & Croatan High School
Newport, NC.

.

ACHIEVING TOTAL NITROGEN < 3 MG/L
Project
Location:

Bogue Sound Elementary
School & Croatan High School
Newport, NCOwner:

Carteret County Board of Education

Wastewater
Engineer:Lombardo Associates, Inc.
Boston, MA & Malibu, CA
www.LombardoAssociates.com

TM

Nitrex Design Profile: Design Wastewater Flow:
12,000 gpd
TM Nitrex Influent Total Nitrogen (TN): 70 mg/l
 Effluent Requirements:
o TN<10 mg/lo cBOD5<15 mg/l
o TSS<15 mg/lo Fecal Coliform < 200 MPN/100ML
Wastewater Treatment Process:TM
Septic Tank  Recirculating Sand Filter  Nitrex Filter  Recirc. Sand Filter  UV Disinfection  Drainfield
Lombardo Associates, Inc. (LAI) was retained by the Carteret County Board of Education (CCBoE) to design, permit
TMand build a Nitrex Nitrogen Removal wastewater system serving Croatan High School and Bogue Sound Elementary
School. The existing wastewater system for the School consisted of three recirculating sand filter (RSF) cells with UV
disinfection prior to discharge to a drainfield. The LAI design included modifications to the piping of the RSF to optimize
TMdenitrification and construction of a Nitrex filter, and using one of the RSFs for polishing. The Croatan High Schooland Bogue Sound Elementary School On-Site Wastewater Treatment System became operational in December 2009
and was immediately performing within permit requirements. Performance data is:Bogue Sound Elementary School & Croatan High School, Newport, NC
Start-up

Septic Tank Effluent

10-Dec-09

BOD

TKN

BOD

Units
Permit

mg/l

mg/l

mg/l
15

Geometric Mean
Average

178
192

104
109

1.2
1.4

DateNitrexTM System Effluent
TNFecalTSS
Calc.
Coliform
mg/l
mg/l
mpn / 100 mL
1510200

1.3
6.6

2.52
3.02

1.2
8.1