CASE STUDY (https://www.americancityandcounty.

com/type/case-study/)

CASE STUDIES

New system provides wastewater treatment solution

for FEMA workforce housing in Paradise, Calif.
Written by Don Prince 6th December 2019

The November 2018 Paradise, California Camp Fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills devastated the
entire community, killing 85 people, destroying 11,000 homes, and displacing nearly 50,000 people. It
was the most destructive wildJre in the history of California.
After the Jre was subdued, it left a devastated community. This disaster required an immediate
response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) including manpower and
equipment to quickly stabilize the situation, clear debris including toxic waste, and rebuild the
community. To facilitate this massive recovery effort, the creation of a nearby workforce housing
camp for up to 1,500 workers was necessary. The former Tuscan Ridge Golf Club property was
selected for the base camp facilities, which consist of approximately 400 temporary, modular
housing units, two food preparation kitchens, a dining facility, a Jtness and recreation center, and a
full-service laundry. To proceed with the base camp construction, a wastewater treatment system
design with the capacity to handle a design Wow of up to 100,000 gallons per day (GPD) was needed.

Project Challenges

Accelerated deadlines and extreme site limitations complicated the Tuscan Ridge Base Camp and
wastewater system construction. The wastewater design Wow was calculated at 50 GPD for each of
the potential 1,500 workers for a total of 75,000 GPD. To accommodate peak Wows and a factor of
safety, the wastewater system design was sized for Wows up to 100,000 GPD. Site geologic
conditions were challenging. Underlying shallow lava formations precluded subsurface dispersal and
impeded the installation process. Trenching through the solid rock at the site required specialized
construction equipment.

Time was in short supply as modular worker housing was being constructed quickly. To expedite the
construction timeline, a General Order Permit was issued to speed regulatory approvals for the
wastewater system. Due to the challenging characteristics of the site, large wastewater Wows, and
short timeframe for completion, the project contractor, Lance Bates of NexGen Septics, selected an
Advanced Enviro-Septic (AES) Wastewater Treatment System. The AES system features gravity
collection and distribution, passive secondary treatment, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, and large
evapotranspiration basins for post treatment dispersal and possible reuse. The AES technology
removes 99 percent of wastewater contaminants and requires a minimal amount of ongoing
maintenance.

Wastewater System Details

Wastewater is collected from the housing, laundry, and kitchen facilities including from the inline
grease interceptors speciJed for the food preparation areas. The wastewater Wows by gravity to
primary treatment in four Xerxes 40,000-gallon septic tanks that are plumbed in serial conJguration
for a total capacity of 160,000 gallons. Following the septic tanks, the wastewater discharges by
gravity to a series of distribution boxes (d-boxes). The primary d-box splits the wastewater Wow to
four, lined, Advanced Enviro-Septic (AES) beds, which perform passive, secondary treatment. Each
bed has a design Wow capacity of 25,000 GPD and contains 8,400 feet of AES pipe surrounded by a
speciJed sand. The entire system, including the four identical beds, totals 33,600 feet of AES pipe.
The treated ecuent is collected from the bottom of each bed and is distributed by gravity to four
Salcor 3G UV disinfection units. There is a total of 16 UV units and each four-unit array disinfects
25,000 GPD. The puriJed ecuent is distributed by gravity to one of four pump tanks. The ecuent
path through the bed, UV units, and pump chamber is segregated to allow isolation of the Wows for
any maintenance such as UV lamp replacement, etc. Lastly, each pump chamber distributes the
puriJed ecuent up to two evapotranspiration ponds.

Paradise Today

Before availability of the Tuscan Ridge Base Camp, FEMA recovery workers had to travel long
distances to and from the area each day due to a lack of accommodations. This workforce camp is
expected to continue as an active staging and housing area for the Camp Fire recovery efforts
throughout Butte County for the foreseeable future.

The impact of the Jre to the Town of Paradise is reWected in the population, which dropped from
26,800 in 2010 (United States Census, 2010), to approximately 2,000 residents in April 2019. This
decrease in population enabled the State of California to certify the community as a rural area, which
allowed the town to receive additional funding for housing, wastewater projects, and other needed
rebuilding efforts. New building codes addressing Wammable materials and improved street planning
are being incorporated into the recovery plans to prevent similar devastation in the future.

While some residents have left the area without any plans to return, others are committed to
rebuilding their homes utilizing Jre resilient building practices; with many choosing concrete
exteriors and incorporating additional safety features such as sprinkler systems. Businesses are
beginning to reopen and there is widespread hope that the town and greater community will emerge
from this disaster stronger, safer, with a more modern municipal infrastructure, and better able to
meet the economic and environmental challenges of the future.

Don Prince holds a Civil Engineering Degree from Vermont Technical College and is a licensed septic
system designer and evaluator. He has provided technical support for AES and other Presby
Environmental products since 2012. Presby Environmental is an InJltrator Water Technologies
company. Don lives with his family in northern Vermont.

Tags: Case Study , Public Works & Utilities , Case Studies

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

IWCE’s Urgent Communications IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

About Us (https://www.americancityandcounty.com/about-us-2/)

Contact Us (https://www.americancityandcounty.com/contact-us-2/)
FOLLOW AMERICAN CITY AND COUNTY ON SOCIAL

(https://www.americancityandcounty.com/feed/)

Cookies Policy Privacy Terms

Copyright ©2020 Informa PLC. Informa Telecoms & Media

Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number
00991704 whose registered o!ce is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG. VAT
GB365462636. Informa Telecoms & Media Limited is part of Informa PLC.