A Napa Valley winery used Hydro MicroScreen™ to save $740,000 a year on energy and $165,000 a year on operational and utility costs, while recycling effluent for irrigation. 

Situation

The supply, treatment and disposal of water costs money, so winemakers are under constant pressure to reduce consumption and discharge and to increase recycling and reuse. Add to this the fact that California is prone to drought, and water becomes a uniquely precious commodity.

Problem

A Napa Valley winery needed to reduce its wastewater treatment plant operation and cut its utility costs, while exploring whether they could acquire the ability to reuse effluent for irrigation. The winery had been using an inefficient 500 micron drum screen to treat wastewater at flows of 50-400 gallons per minute (3-25 litres per second) ahead of an aerated two-cell lagoon that fed four field irrigation pumps.

Solution

Hydro International arranged for the winery to take a Hydro MicroScreen™ unit with 158 micron screen on a full-season trial. Effluent from both Hydro MicroScreen™ and the drum screen was piped to separate but adjacent rows in the winery to test the two systems side by side.

Outcome

Effluent from the drum screen stopped percolating within two hours of operation, while the Hydro MicroScreen™ removed far higher levels of DE and TSS and effluent successfully percolated into the irrigated field for the entire season.

Switching to the Hydro MicroScreen™ meant that the two-cell lagoon and field pumps were no longer required, which translated into an 80% reduction in treatment footprint and an annual saving of $740,000 in power costs every year. In addition, meeting wastewater permitting needs, reducing the treatment process and improving water reuse saved the winery $165,000 annually in operational and utility costs.

Finally, organic solids captured by the Hydro MicroScreen™ were able to be sold on to a local animal feed production facility, creating a secondary revenue stream from waste that would otherwise have been lost.