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Home / Municipal lagoons
For cities, towns & sanitary districts
Meet your new permit without building a new plant.
Your lagoon has served your community for decades. Triplepoint adds nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal so it can meet today's ammonia, total nitrogen, phosphorus and TSS limits, on a small-town budget, with the crew you already have.
300+lagoon installations
<0.1 mg/Lavg. effluent ammonia, NitrOx® systems
100 MGDcumulative rated capacity
30+ yrsof lagoon engineering expertise
BABA · AISdomestic procurement, built in Colorado
Sound familiar?
Common municipal lagoon challenges.
Every lagoon is different, but the pressures are usually the same. Here's how we answer them.
“Our renewed permit has an ammonia limit, and we've never had to nitrify.”
NitrOx® adds dedicated nitrification after your lagoon. Systems can be engineered for effluent ammonia less than 0.1 mg/L where site conditions and the design support that target. How it works →
“We meet our limits in summer, then fall out of compliance every winter.”
Below about 50° F, lagoon nitrification drops off. NitrOx® is built to keep nitrifying in cold water, all year.
“The engineer's report says build a mechanical plant. We can't afford that.”
Upgrading the lagoon reuses the basins you already paid for. Ask us for a second option before you commit.
“We're a two-person crew. We can't babysit a complicated system.”
Our systems keep the lagoon's simple, forgiving operation, with equipment maintained from the surface.
“Our aeration equipment is getting old, and the laterals keep leaking.”
Ares Aeration® replaces worn-out aeration, often reusing your existing blowers and header piping.
“Neighbors are complaining about odor, and sludge is eating our capacity.”
More mixing and oxygen digest sludge in place. Our aeration has reduced sludge blankets by up to 60%.
Why upgrade instead of replace
Make more of what your town already has.
Lagoons are the most proven, lowest maintenance way for a community to treat wastewater. Our job is to make yours meet new limits, not to sell you an expensive mechanical plant.
- Protect your capital budgetReuse existing basins, and often existing blowers and piping, instead of starting over.
- Keep operations simpleNo large crew, no 24/7 on-call. Lagoon volume absorbs peak flows and slugs.
- Fit any siteCompact, modular technologies added beside or inside the lagoon.
- Get it in writingEvery installation is backed by our “We Say It, We Do It” Technology Performance Guarantee.
The #1 challenge for municipal lagoons
Ammonia limits, year-round, even in cold climates.
Regulators across North America are adding stricter ammonia limits to lagoon permits, because even dilute ammonia is toxic to fish. Most lagoons only nitrify in warm weather. Once water drops below about 10 °C, effluent ammonia climbs.
- Lagoon removes BOD firstYour existing lagoon does what it does best.
- NitrOx® nitrifiesHigh-surface-area media grows a large nitrifier population that keeps working in near-freezing water.
- Compliant dischargeNitrOx® can be designed for effluent ammonia less than 0.1 mg/L where project conditions allow.
Northern lagoons
Cold water, winter limits
Nitrification stalls when lagoon water drops below about 50° F. NitrOx grows a large attached nitrifier population that keeps ammonia low through the winter months.
Southern lagoons
Summer DO demands
Warm-climate lagoons face their toughest oxygen demand in the summer. We design summer recirculation into the treatment train to keep high-ammonia periods under control and prevent odor.
Reliable wastewater treatment for your community
Protect your water. Plan for your future.
Your town needs wastewater treatment it can depend on—without unnecessary disruption or complexity. We help communities update existing lagoons to meet water-quality requirements, manage growth and support the people who operate them.
Municipal lagoon solutions
Find the right solution for your community.
We combine only what your limits, flows and site need. Nothing cookie-cutter.
Ammonia limit
NitrOx®
Year-round nitrification after the lagoon, even in cold climates.
<0.1 mg/Lavg. effluent ammonia
Total nitrogen limit
NitrOx®+D
Our patented nitrification and denitrification process removes nitrate as well, to meet total nitrogen limits.
Patentedlagoon TN process
Phosphorus limit
Triplepoint Phosphorus Solutions
Low-maintenance tertiary filtration that polishes lagoon effluent.
0.1 mg/Lphosphorus limits
Growth & new industry
LRAS™
LRAS™ (Lagoon Return Activated Sludge) helps communities treat more wastewater in existing lagoon cells or engineered earthen basins, making room for growth without automatically building a new treatment plant.
Up to 10×capacity
Aeration, odor & sludge
Ares Aeration®
Efficient aeration and mixing in one portable unit, serviced from the surface.
10,000+units in the field
Not sure which you need?
Request a permit review →
Send us your permit. We'll tell you what it takes.
A Triplepoint process engineer will review your limits, flows and site, at no cost.
Proven in communities like yours
Small towns. Real permits. Real results.
De Soto, IA · NitrOx®
Meeting a low ammonia limit, cost-effectively
The city added NitrOx® to its lagoon to meet new ammonia limits. Featured in TPO Magazine.
Read the story →
Oregon Water Wonderland SD, OR · Ares Aeration®
Installed in two days. Maintenance hazard gone.
New aeration eliminated aerator maintenance and a serious safety risk for operators.
Read the story →
Danielsville, GA · Aeration
Reused existing blowers and piping
Portable aerators on existing infrastructure saved the city thousands in energy and O&M.
Read the story →
White Bird, ID · Aeration
A small-town aeration upgrade
How a small community modernized its lagoon aeration without overbuilding.
Read the story →
South Suburban SD, OR · Aeration
Low-maintenance aeration, years later
A look back at the district's aeration, years after install.
Read the story →
Benton, MO · NitrOx®
NitrOx® lagoon MBBR, on video
Walk through a lagoon upgraded for ammonia removal.
Watch the video →Funding & procurement
A practical plan for your town.
From the facility plan to the funding application to startup, we make the process easier for your council and your engineer.
BABA, AIS & domestic procurement
Ares Aeration® is assembled in our Colorado factory from U.S.-made components, built to support Build America, Buy America and American Iron and Steel requirements on federally funded projects.
Energy savings initiatives
Aeration is a lagoon's largest power cost. Efficient aeration lowers the bill, and documented savings may help qualify for utility energy-efficiency incentive programs.
Engineer-friendly
We support your consulting engineer with process design, sizing and documentation for facility plans and bid specs.
Lower capital cost
Reusing your lagoon keeps the project smaller, which helps when you're applying for SRF loans, grants or rate increases.
Rent now, buy later
Need compliance before funding closes? Up to 75% of six months' rent is credited toward a permanent system.
Funding questions?
Start a conversation →
Talk through your funding path with us.
Under a consent order or deadline?
Get treatment running while the permanent plan is built.
Mobile NitrOx® is biological treatment on a road-ready trailer, not just a tank. Its MBBR media can treat ammonia, BOD and total nitrogen while your permanent upgrade is designed and funded. We deliver, install and start it up, and startup and operator training are included.
- A permit deadline construction can't meet
- Winter nitrification shortfalls
- Bypass during a lagoon or plant upgrade
- Pilot testing before a permanent install
~2 weekstypical time to get treatment on site
Up to 75%of six months' rent credited toward a permanent system
The Lagoons Do It Better (LDIB) process
Not off the shelf. Built around your wastewater.
First, we believe lagoons do it better. Then we diagnose the real challenge, tailor the right approach, and support you through startup and beyond. Every installation is backed by our “We Say It, We Do It” Technology Performance Guarantee.
Tailor
A tailored process
Evaluate alternatives, review the options with your team and refine a solution matched to the site, budget and operations.
02 / Collaborate & refineSupport
We Say It, We Do It.
Help implement the solution, start up and train your operators, and continue supporting performance in the field.
03 / SupportYour lagoon. Your requirements. Our commitment.
Questions councils ask
Common questions from your community.
Can we really meet an ammonia limit without replacing our lagoon?
Yes. NitrOx® adds a dedicated nitrification step after the lagoon, and NitrOx® can target effluent ammonia less than 0.1 mg/L where site and design conditions allow. The lagoon keeps doing the BOD removal it was built for. How NitrOx® works →
Will it work through our winters?
Lagoon nitrification typically drops off once water falls below about 10 °C. NitrOx® uses high-surface-area media to grow a large nitrifier population that keeps working in near-freezing water. Why lagoons get ammonia limits →
Will we need more operators?
Typically not. Our systems are designed to keep a lagoon's simple, forgiving operation. Equipment is maintained from the surface, so there's no draining cells or diving for diffusers.
Is your equipment BABA and AIS compliant?
Ares Aeration® is assembled in our Centennial, Colorado factory from components manufactured in the USA, and we support Build America, Buy America (BABA) and American Iron and Steel (AIS) requirements. Talk to us about the documentation your funding agency requires. About Ares Aeration® →
Our lagoon is in the South. Does ammonia removal work differently here?
Yes. Warm-climate lagoons often see their highest ammonia in summer rather than winter. We design for your climate, including summer recirculation where high-ammonia periods call for it.
Can an aeration upgrade lower our power bill?
Often. Aeration is typically a lagoon's largest energy cost, and replacing inefficient equipment can reduce it. We can compare your existing system with an upgrade and provide data that may support utility energy-efficiency incentive applications. Lagoon energy efficiency →
Can you work with our consulting engineer?
Absolutely. Most of our municipal projects are designed with the community's engineer. We provide process design, sizing and supporting documentation.
What if we need to be compliant before a permanent system is funded?
Rental aeration and Mobile NitrOx® can typically be on site in about two weeks, and up to 75% of six months' rent is credited toward a future system purchase. Rental systems →
Free permit review
Tell us about your town's lagoon.
Share your permit limits, flows and timeline. A Triplepoint lagoon specialist will follow up with options, no obligation.
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