HeadsUp Newsletter - Vol 3.12: December 2006

Close to Cherokee Lake, the City of Morristown is located in the beautiful undulating hills of the northeastern portion of Tennessee. In 1997, the City decided to upgrade the headworks portion of their Wastewater Treatment Facility.

The plants housed an old coarse bar screen which required manual raking. Not only was the coarse screen allowing too many solids to pass into the downstream equipment and processes, but the City had decided to sub-contract out the operation of the plant which necessitated that this system be automated.

So, the screens were to be replaced, but no new or expanded headworks facility was to be built. They needed a screen that could still handle the flow in their existing channel, but with smaller openings. The engineering consulting firm Metcalf and Eddy was hired to design the screen replacement.

Ultimately, Metcalf and Eddy chose the Headworks^® Mahr^® Bar Screen as the selected equipment and in 1999 it was installed in Morristown’s 7.5 MGD facility.

The small channel is 3.5 feet wide (1.07m) and 4.5 feet deep (1.37m) with a 4 foot (1.22 m) water depth. Obviously, with only 6” of freeboard, headloss is an issue. The quick cleaning cycle and tapered screen field bars keep the channel from flooding during peak flows. Since installation, the City has been very pleased with the Headworks^® Bar Screen design, performance and minimal maintenance requirements.

What sets it apart? Simply, it does its job day in and day out, year after year. The Morristown WWTP has since been recognized by the Kentucky/Tennessee Water Pollution Control Association for Outstanding Operation of the wastewater treatment facility.

This installation is further evidence that the Headworks^® Bar Screen design is unique and can work well in retrofit projects. Many plants across the country have successfully upgraded their plants by installing Mahr^® Bar Screens with fine openings in existing channels, replacing their old coarse screens. The Headworks^® Bar Screen gives you the performance of a fine screen and the strength of a coarse screen. For more information on the Headworks screening technology, please visit www.headworksusa.com.