LOVELAND, Colo.  - (October 19, 2011) – Hach announced the grand prize winners of the second annual See the BIG Picture contest at WEFTEC2011 on October 18.  Cranberry Township Brush Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, a municipal wastewater facility and Arkema Inc.,  a producer of industrial chemicals, were each awarded $50,000 in Hach equipment based on their submissions to Hach’s BIG Picture contest.

Cranberry Township Brush Creek Wastewater Treatment plant will receive a variety of Hach equipment for lab verification, portable spot checking, and real-time online instrumentation. According to the plant, the package will be ideal for “monitoring ammonia and phosphorus levels throughout the treatment process…allowing for better process control decisions and to generate data that would be useful in designing for the next plant expansion, which is expected to include a total nitrogen limit.” The Brush Creek WWTP has also been awarded a WIMS system to help manage the new data generated by the Hach equipment, and produce information the team will utilize in their mission to “return the finest quality of effluence back into the environment.”

Arkema has selected to receive a BioTector B7000 TOC Analyzer to enahnce their process monitoring. According to their submission, the BioTector will allow them to “obtain continuous process monitoring of incoming flows to [their] wastewater system along with verification of proper biological treatment. [They will] strategically position the equipment to enable automatic continuous sampling of a few critical streams, along with a separate manual port for other streams within the plant that will require periodic analysis.” 

The contest, which began on April 19, offered one municipal and one industrial wastewater treatment plant the chance to receive $50,000 in FREE Hach equipment by creating a video or PowerPoint explaining how new equipment could improve their treatment process. Entries were judged on creativity, expected results from the products requested, expected impact of the award, and the extent of need.

While the two grand prize winners have been selected, eight other plants are hopefuls to receive the Fan Favorite prize of $40,000 in Hach equipment. This prize will be awarded to one facility based on public votes at hach.com/bigpicture. Voting is open to the public and ends on November 13, 2011.  Hach will announce the $40,000 Fan Favorite winner on November 15, 2011.

The contest is designed to help municipal wastewater treatment plants and industrial sites understand the benefits of increasing their nutrient monitoring to optimize their nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

 More frequent monitoring will help plants “See the BIG Picture” of their operations, thereby decreasing expensive chemical and energy costs while helping address one of the most sensitive environmental issues in wastewater treatment. Currently most plants only do periodic, required nutrient monitoring, so they’re unable to adjust chemical dosing or aeration to the specific changes occurring in real-time.

About Hach Company

For over 60 years, Hach Company (www.hach.com) has been developing innovative solutions used to test the quality of water, other liquids and air. Manufactured and distributed worldwide, Hach systems are designed to simplify analysis by offering sophisticated on-line instrumentation, accurate portable laboratory equipment, high-quality prepared reagents, complete easy-to-follow methods, and life-time technical support. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Information

Liz Myers

970-663-1377 ext. 2565

Emyers@hach.com