Donohue & Associates worked with the Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW) to construct an anaerobic digester at the Holland Area Water Reclamation Facility. The project recently received an ENVISION Gold rating for sustainability.

Holland Area Water Reclamation Facility treats wastewater from the City of Holland, as well as portions of Filmore, Holland Charter, Laketown, and Park Townships. It receives and treats an average flow of 9 million gallons per day. HBPW is reaching capacity with its existing solids storage tanks while landfill fees were increasing and the quantity of solids accepted by the local landfill was decreasing. Donohue performed a biosolids alternatives evaluation for HBPW. The analysis revealed that the most cost-effective, long-term solution for biosolids management was anaerobic digestion.

HBPW contracted with Donohue to design an anaerobic digestor to resolve the challenges the organization had been experiencing. While the digester was the project’s main focus, other significant components include odor control and the utilization of the methane gas produced in the digester. Biogas-fueled engines with heat recovery further attest to the project’s emphasis on environmental stewardship.

Weighing in at just under one million pounds of steel, for a total of 18 million pounds once filled, the digester complex reaches over 100 feet into the air. It provides a sustainable solution that will be of benefit to the Holland area, as evidenced by its ENVISION Gold rating.