Welcome to vinings Village

COBB COUNTY WATER STAFF PRESENTED AT THE VVHA ANNUAL MEETING ON MAY 5.

The R.L. Sutton Water Reclamation Facility on Atlanta Road serves Vinings, East Cobb, plus parts of Smyrna and  Marietta. The largest of Cobb's four wastewater treatment facilities, it is located on S Atlanta Road alongside the Chattahoochee River. Originally constructed in 1971, biosolids were treated with aerobic digesters, thickener tanks, and drying beds, then disposed in landfills. 

• In 1982, in lieu of landfill disposal, the facility began processing biosolids via incineraoation in a new multiple hearth incinerator. That year the plant capacity more than doubled and then in 1991, capacity was again expanded including the addition of a second multiple hearth incinerator. In 2008, the processes were upgraded with a new solids process building and two fluidized bed incinerators to replace the outdated multiple hearth incinerators.
• Until 2016, the incinerators were in continuous operation until they were decommissioned when emission limits for biosolids incineration became more stringent by the US Environmental Protection Agency. At the time, it was more cost-effective for the facility to dispose of biosolids by hauling offsite with trucks to a landfill rather than upgrading the air pollution control system of the incinerators. 
• As the cost of landfilling biosolids has significantly increased since 2016, and there is uncertainty about continued landfill acceptance, Cobb Water considered alternatives. Cobb Water believes that restarting the incinerators is the most cost-effective and best long-term solution for biosolids management. 
• Cobb Water is in the process of obtaining proposals to rehabilitate the existing incinerators and to upgrade the air pollution control system to comply with all applicable air emission standards and operating limits. The project also includes upgrades to biosolids processing equipment, which is needed whether the biosolids are landfilled or incinerated. 

The RL Sutton WRF biosolids handling upgrades project is in the initial stage. Should the project move forward later this year, the anticipated completion is in 2029.