High-Rate Retention Treatment Basins for CSO Control in Windsor, Ontario

Abstract Experimental investigations were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a retention treatment basin (RTB) with polymer coagulation for the treatment of combined sewer overflows (CSO) at high hydraulic loading rates. The TSS removal efficiency of the pilot-scale RTB at a surface overflow rate (SOR) of 11 m/h was approximately 35% without chemical addition, and 80% with a polymer dosage range of 5 to 10 milligrams per gram of influent TSS. The results demonstrated that the use of polymer coagulation significantly improved TSS removal and allowed the SOR in the RTB to be significantly increased, resulting in smaller treatment units. An empirical relationship was established to estimate removal efficiencies as a function of overflow rate. The results also compared settling characteristics of CSO, obtained from long column tests, to removal efficiencies in the high-rate RTB.