At Great Blue Heron Management, we know that experience and trust are the most important components to a solid client relationship.
It is our careful planning, thoughtful problem-solving and professional management skills that make us trusted by companies like these.
Case Study: Cambridge Water Technology
Clarification and Filtration Experts Call on Roy Wood for BioMag Pilot Plant Management
Cambridge Water Technology is a clarification, filtration and biological treatment business that develops high-performance, low cost solutions for the production of potable/process water and the purification of wastewater. Based on innovative technologies developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the products and services offered by Cambridge Water Technology meet the needs of a number of municipal and industrial clients. The company strives to deliver systems with clean water at low capital and operating costs, and with strong reliability.
One of Cambridge Water Technology’s newer initiatives focuses on BioMag, an innovative wastewater treatment process in which magnetite is infused into wastewater microorganisms, increasing specific gravity and making biomass settle much faster and much more reliably than through conventional processes. The company had refined the process but needed to test the system and scalability with a pilot plant. Cambridge Water Technology chose Roy Wood, founder of Great Blue Heron Management, to manage the project.
Roy started work on this new technology in 2007, beginning with a pilot project in Sturbridge Massachusetts. The pilot project goals were to prove that BioMag could successfully meet total phosphorus limits of 0.2 ppm and increase flows and loadings by 100% using existing tankage, while providing the customer significant savings over a membrane bioreactor process. Roy assisted with the installation of the pilot plant and managed all day-to-day operating requirements including process control, lab testing, maintenance, housekeeping and guided tours. Today, the Town of Sturbridge Massachusetts has selected the BioMag technology and is now currently in the process of designing and constructing a new facility. The BioMag facility should be completed in 2011.
Roy was chosen for the BioMag project because of his open-minded approach and his willingness to explore the best methods for success, rather than simply common methods. Some plant operators routinely handle issues in the same manner year after year. Roy has used his skills at many different types of wastewater treatment plants and knows that not every situation is alike. Roy’s experience, innovative perspective, and trustworthiness secured him a position on the BioMag team.
Roy recently completed a second full scale pilot plant at the Upper Gwynedd Township Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pennsylvania. The goal at this facility was to convert a 1.5 MGD train to BioMag and demonstrate its ability to successfully maintain permit compliance at flows twice that of average day design. The key was to show this over long periods of time, while keeping suspended solids in check and having control over the sludge blanket in the clarifier. All data to date confirms that BioMag can successfully achieve the goals set forth in this project.
Cambridge Water Technology, with the help of Roy Wood of Great Blue Heron Management, has successfully introduced BioMag to the marketplace, welcoming a new era in wastewater treatment processes.
Case Study: EMC Corporation
IT Hardware and Software Titan EMC Corporation Puts Trust in Great Blue Heron Management
EMC Corporation is a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 provider of information infrastructure systems, software and services. Headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, the company’s products are known and respected worldwide.
When the company needed a new wastewater treatment operator in 2003, EMC hired a third party contract operator. Grat Blue Heron Management's founder, Roy Wood, was tasked with managing all aspects of operation and maintenance of the new system. The project faced challenging time constraints, with requirements to meet state and local compliance within a 30-day period. Management at EMC trusted Roy’s expertise, experience, and professionalism. He completed the project and met the compliance deadlines as required.
Due to the success of that original project, EMC bestowed its trust in Roy Wood and has retained his services throughout the years. Today, Roy manages all of the EMC sewer systems in Massachusetts, and is called in if any issues arise. Roy handles all of the pumping station services, septic tank management, grease trap cleaning and any repairs that are required.
When there are decisions to be made, Roy is on top of those challenges and never underestimates the importance of compliance for EMC facilities. He takes his responsibility for EMC seriously and is not afraid to suggest a bold solution if it is the right way to solve a problem.
EMC Corporation and Roy Wood of Great Blue Heron Management have a long-standing, trusted history that is expected to reach far into the future.
Case Study: Salisbury Management
Property Management Company Turns to Great Blue Heron Management
Salisbury Management is a property management company based in Boylston, Massachusetts, and is responsible for managing over 30 properties in the Central Massachusetts area. Their services include building and ground maintenance, water and sewer maintenance, road maintenance and more.
When the company needed to operate several sewer sewage pumping stations in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Salisbury Management knew that Great Blue Heron Management would be ideal for several reasons. Founder Roy Wood was a seasoned independent operator, and was familiar with the sewer system and local government regulations in the Sturbridge area. Roy and his team could skillfully orchestrate the sewer system’s success by ensuring all regulations were met and the sewer system was managed in a professional manner.
Great Blue Heron Management started by meeting with the local Board of Health to identify historical problems associated with this sewer system and by considering avenues that would best meet the needs of the various entities involved in the project. The company was especially crucial in negotiation and coordination efforts with town officials. Great Blue Heron Management understood and could address concerns raised by the town’s Board of Health, while still meeting the needs of Salisbury Management.
After Great Blue Heron Management demonstrated unmatched skill in this initial project, Salisbury Management has called on the company for subsequent projects. The two are currently partnering on a geothermal groundwater monitoring system, to ensure the system is correctly providing data and also meets compliance. This project includes managing a sampling program for a geothermal discharge into a local surface water system in Massachusetts. Roy has coordinated with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to determine how best to meet the permit requirements set forth in the general permit, and Roy will be responsible for organizing future permits as well.
Salisbury Management has trusted Great Blue Heron Management as an invaluable resource. Salisbury Management was among the company’s first clients, and the relationship still continues on today.
customers and from 15 million gallons per day down to 2500 gallons per day. The wastewater systems we have worked on have ranged from 5,000 gallons per day up to 5,000,000 gallons per day. In addition, we have dealt with a variety of different technologies including sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membrane bioreactors (MBR), Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process, BioMag, and others. 
