Water Remediation and Biosolids Collection System and Associated Methods

Abstract

A system and method for remediating a body of water and collecting suspended and dissolved solids therefrom are provided. The system includes a water-impervious lining positionable in a depression in or adjacent a body of water. The lining and depression define a treatment vessel, which includes a treatment portion, an outlet portion for containing treated water, and an outflow weir between the treatment portion and the outlet portion. Water to be treated is transported from the water body to the treatment portion. An entrapment element is delivered and mixed into the transported water, the entrapment element for capturing suspended and dissolved solids in the transported water and effecting a separation between the captured solids and water cleansed therefrom. The captured solids can be removed from the treatment basin, and the cleansed water can move through a channel in the outflow weir into the outlet portion.

1 - 2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . A dissolved air floatation system for remediating a body of water and removing solids therefrom, the system comprising:
 a generally water-impervious treatment vessel comprising a treatment portion having an inlet for receiving water to be treated and an outlet portion for containing treated water;   a conduit for transporting water to be treated from a body of water to the inlet;   a bubble generator for delivering bubbles into the water in the treatment vessel upstream the outlet portion, the bubbles adapted to carry solids in the water in the treatment vessel to the water surface to separate solids and water in the treatment vessel;   an air current generator for generating an air current in such a way that the air current moves the solids at the water surface to a collection point where at least a portion of the carried solids are removed from the treatment vessel; and   an outflow weir between the treatment portion and the outlet portion, the outflow weir being adapted to allow treated water with carried solids removed to flow past the outflow weir into the outlet portion.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , further comprising an effluent pump having an inlet within the outflow portion and a float switch for activating the effluent pump when effluent in the outflow portion has reached a predetermined depth. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the bubble generator comprises a cracking valve and a saturation tube upstream of the cracking valve. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , further comprising a source of at least one of a coagulant and a flocculant, and an injector for injecting the at least one of the coagulant and the flocculant into the transported water upstream the bubble generator. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 3 , further comprising a flexible sheeting forming the water-impervious surface of the vessel. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the flexible sheeting comprises a geo-textile material. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the treatment vessel is positioned in a depression in soil adjacent a body of water to be treated, the depression sloping downward in the treatment vessel toward the inlet. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the depression further includes a pit therein adjacent the inlet for collecting precipitated solids therein. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 3 , further comprising a cover extending above the depression. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the air current generator includes a blower positioned upstream from the collection point. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the collection point comprises a ramp and conveyor. 
     
     
         14 . A dissolved air floatation method for remediating a body of water by removing solids therefrom, the method comprising:
 transporting water from the body of water to an inlet of a generally water-impervious treatment vessel;   mixing bubbles with the transported water in the treatment vessel, the bubbles carrying at least a portion of the solids in the transported water to a surface of the water, thereby separating solids and water in the treatment vessel;   generating an air current across the surface of the water that forces the carried solids at the water surface to a collection point where at least a portion of the carried solids are removed from the treatment vessel; and   moving the separated water into an outlet portion of the treatment vessel.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the mixing step comprises channeling the water and bubbles to a saturation tube and thence to a cracking valve. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising injecting at least one of a coagulant and a flocculant into the transported water. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the mixing step comprises channeling the water into a serpentine flow pathway upstream the treatment vessel. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising forming a depression in soil adjacent the body of water and sloping a lower surface of the depression downward toward the inlet. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the treatment vessel is generally water-impervious by including water-impervious sheeting lining the vessel.