Here’s Mud in your Eye!

It has been reported that recent run-off from heavy rains after the 2015 forest fires in California has deposited large quantities of ash and soils into ‘Pine Flat Reservoir’ in Fresno County, resulting in the displacement of 200,000 acre feet of water storage.

As one of the many reservoirs responsible for the collection and storage of precious water whenever rain falls, this is worthy of concern.

*200,000 acre feet of water would supply over 440,000 average family homes per year.

Multiply this by as many reservoirs and lakes that collect and store our precious water during drought and consider how much, year after year, the build-up of mud in our reservoirs costs society in terms of lost water availability.

An answer to this growing problem is to build more dams. Good luck with that!

Alternatively, we can dredge our storage lakes and reservoirs and replace mud with water.

We can do that.

Simple!

I’ll drink to that: Here’s mud in your eye!

*Based on 1 acre foot = 325,851 gals.

*Family of (4) average consumes 400gals/day.

Concrete Reclaim Slurry.

Concrete Reclaim Slurry.

Increasingly, ready mix producers in down-town areas of large cities are faced with the problems of concrete slurry handling and disposal.

Unlike rock and sand in any returned mix, or drum wash-out, which can be separated and washed for stockpile and reuse in future batches, what do you do with what’s left?

You can’t put it onto a recycle pile for fear of run-off.

If you put it into a storage pond, the “hot” slurry can set up and create a clean-out problem.

You can keep it in suspension by using an expensive and labor intensive stirrer-tank until it can be fed into the next batch.

These are neither practical nor cost effective solutions.

A filter press can take the slurry feed and produce a “clean” filtrate, completely free of suspended solids for tank storage and future use.

The cement solids, turned into a very low-moisture cake, can be disposed of without fear of run-off or expensive transportation or disposal costs.

Call Flowpress USA to discuss an effective and efficient solution to handling concrete reclaim slurry. 530-790-7737.

Coastal Dredging

Increasingly, the need to dredge sediment from coastal waters, whether to accommodate ever-larger ocean-going vessels, handle excavations from the construction or repair of piers, or toxic spill clean-up, can create environmental concerns from the disturbance of bay and estuary mud.

A filter press can turn the dredged mud into a stackable cake suitable for non-spill haul-off and produce low turbidity water that can often meet clean water standards for reintroduction or recycling.

Enter ‘FlowPress’ technology – Portable equipment operated by trained personnel in liquid/solids separation.

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Call us at 530-790-7737 to discuss your dredging problems with our team of professionals.

Brewmasters, Craft Beer and Hops

The brewing of local craft beers is a growth industry throughout the US, with many fine beers entering the field in competition with the “usual suspects” of ‘Bud’, ‘Millers, ‘Coors’, et al.

The long overdue generation of tasty beers has arrived!!

With it comes the need to separate the hops and other suspended solids from that lovely brown liquid.

There’s no better way to do it than with a filter press. Check out FlowPress technology at or Call us at 530-790-7737 with any of your brewing questions.

‘El-Niño’ Alert

A message for all owners of holding ponds.

Are you a producer who generates waste slurries that are held in storage ponds?

This is expected to be a very strong ‘El-Niño’ year that could generate a ‘500-year flood’ in your area. Look at the ‘1000-year flood’ that just happened in South Carolina.

Such a disaster could swamp your pond(s) and send countless tons of waste solids spilling into the environment.

Would you be ready to do the clean-up?

Could your company handle the associated fines and public backlash?

If this becomes your first experience with a flood of ‘biblical proportions’, maybe you should try to mitigate the risk before it’s too late.

Call FlowPress for a cost effective solution to reducing the solids content of your holding pond.  You’ll be a good neighbor, a good steward of the environment and save some serious money. Your insurance company will like you too!

CATASTROPHIC SPILLS

On August 4th 2014 a dam holding back mine tailings slurry from the Imperial Metals copper mine on Mount Polley in British Columbia failed and sent over 3.8 BILLION gallons of water and mud spilling into a pristine Canadian environment and down into Quesinal Lake, the largest fresh water lake on earth.

The slurry contained high levels of selenium, arsenic and other dangerous contaminants.

One year and one day later, the EPA was responsible for a 3 million gallon slurry spill at the Gold King Mine in Silverton, CO. The slurry, containing high concentrations of arsenic, cadmium and lead, will settle in the silt bed of the river(s) into which it flows, to be stirred up with every rainstorm and washed eventually into the Colorado River and one of the main sources of drinking water for millions of Americans.

The EPA, which was managing the cleanup, “apologized”, and all fines and remediation costs, will of course be covered by us, the taxpayers. Will anyone go to jail? Will the EPA be forced to go out of business? Of course not.

Not so with the Mount Polley spill. The company responsible will need to file for bankruptcy protection and will most certainly go out of business.

What will happen to the managers of Imperial Metals’? Would you like to have been one of them? Losing their jobs or even doing jail time.

What about the stockholders and their invested wealth?

When storing waste slurry of any kind during mining operations, suspended solids or ash removal from geothermal or coal-fired power generation, drilling or fracking operations, or even simple cement slurry generated from concrete reclaim systems, it can become a long term liability to any company.

Management practices aimed at reducing the risk of spills by either handling these slurries as they are produced, or by reducing stocks in tailings or clean-out ponds, will pay dividends and can be regarded as a real cost effective solution and an investment in your company’s future operations.

Investment in filter press technology can significantly reduce your ‘catastrophic spill’ liability.

Sinking Central Valley

Did you hear the news report in August that certain parts of the California Central Valley had sunk in some areas over 13 inches in the previous 12 months?

That’s pretty serious stuff!

Details in the report put the “sinking feeling” down to over-demand for groundwater to support crop irrigation in America’s ‘Bread Basket’: apparently, as underground lakes (“aquifers”) are used up, the ground above collapses into the void.

Read more…