The Barranquilla Story

Improving wastewater treatment in developing nations

Barranquilla, Colombia, is working hard to improve its wastewater treatment record and its impact on human health and the environment. But, like many cities in developing nations, the government faces spending huge sums of money to expand infrastructure in order to meet growing demand.

A port city of more than 1.3 million people, Barranquilla uses a basic wastewater treatment system. The effluent flows from source locations to minor aqueducts, into a series of lagoons and is then discharged into the Magdalena River after treatment. Officials in Barranquilla approached BiOWiSH Technologies to help them treat their effluent and meet discharge requirements. BiOWiSH partnered with Bioprocesos S.A., a local, independent treatment consultant, to determine a treatment protocol.

BiOWiSH™-Aqua was applied and within weeks biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) were reduced by 50%. The improvement in water clarity and solids reduction allowed the city to meet discharge requirements without expanding its infrastructure. The cost savings of not building new facilities is estimated to be $20M (USD). Many facilities in developing nations discharge contaminated wastewater because they simply can't process it as quickly as it comes in the system. This issue leads to polluted waterways, drinking water and other environmental and health issues for people living nearby.

BiOWiSH™ helps developing nations leapfrog conventional wastewater treatment technologies that are capital intensive. Easy to dose and implement, BiOWiSH™ technology is a cost effective way to speed up the digestion of solids. A novel consortium of biologically active ingredients consisting of extracellular co-factors, enzymes and bacteria, BiOWiSH™ also effectively reduces odor BOD, TSS, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). BiOWiSH™ also reduces the need for chemicals required for plants to meet discharge requirements. This benefit is particularly significant as the global push to reduce chemical footprints continues to increase.

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