After Hurricane Katrina, offshore oil rigs in New Orleans needed quick repairs, and large workforces had to be housed on barges. The challenge: processing wastewater without polluting the environment. SludgeHammer’s portable wastewater treatment system, the Aerobic Bacterial Generator (ABG), provided a solution.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans faced widespread devastation, including damage to offshore oil rigs. As repairs were coordinated, there was an urgent need to house large workforces on the rigs for extended periods.
The challenge: how to process wastewater clean enough to discharge back into the ocean, while meeting environmental regulations. Flat river barges were used as platforms for worker housing, but Louisiana couldn’t allow sewage from 120 workers to be dumped directly into the rivers and bayous.
SludgeHammer® provided its Aerobic Bacterial Generator (ABG) technology, a modular and portable wastewater treatment system. The system was designed to handle 10,000 gallons of wastewater per day and discharge clean effluent into the ocean, meeting MARPOL standards and Lloyds of London certification.
In just three weeks, the team successfully installed the system on the barge, providing housing for 150 workers with fully functioning wastewater treatment. The self-contained sewage treatment system ensured that no bio-solids accumulated and that the treated effluent was safely discharged back into the ocean. The project was completed on time, protecting the sensitive river environment while enabling the necessary repairs to move forward.
