Water reuse for sludge management and wetland habitat

The Hornsby Bend Sludge Management Facility provides centralized stabilization and dewatering for the sludges from several wastewater treatment plants serving the City of Austin, TX. This facility has been utilizing water reuse for a number of years via land application of the treated leachate and run off from the site, on crop land. The treatment sequence included aerated and facultative lagoons and a large greenhouse structure containing water hyacinths. Plans are under development to modify and upgrade the sludge treatment facilities, these will include mechanical dewatering. The reuse of this treated filtrate as wash water in the facility is intended for future operations. This paper describes a conceptual plan for treatment of this filtrate by conversion of one of the existing lagoons to a wetland. A significant portion of this wetland will be developed for optimum habitat value. Public access to this wetland can be provided for observation of birds and other wildlife.