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The project is part of a broader initiative undertaken by the City of Łódź aimed at improving the management of stormwater and meltwater. The existing open tank at Liściasta Street no longer met the requirements regarding the volume of retained water or the quality of its treatment.

 

Effective stormwater treatment is essential due to runoff from the nearby residential area, which flows through the stormwater drainage system. Until now, partially treated water was discharged directly into the tank and the Sokołówka River, which runs through the area.

The installation of a new tank employing environmentally friendly technologies improves both retention efficiency and water treatment quality, benefitting the surrounding environment.

 

The total project cost amounted to PLN 5.1 million gross.

The project, titled “Nature Supported by Technology – A Retention Tank with a Hydrofit Pre-Treatment System at Liściasta Street in Łódź”, was implemented by Ecol-Unicon and received 1st Prize in the “Environmental Protection” category at the Smart City Poland Award 2024 competition.

 

 

 

Moreover, the project has been included on the map of good practices in Interreg Europe – a program co-funded by the European Union. Its aim is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences in sustainable and innovative solutions across Europe.

Scope of work

  • Design of the stormwater pre-treatment facility modernization
  • Demolition of existing pre-treatment structures
  • Construction of a retention tank with a total capacity of 900 m³
  • Construction of the hydrofit pre-treatment system
  • Installation of pre-treatment devices, including sedimentation tanks, separators, and tanks
  • Construction of process pipelines
  • Installation of control, automation, and water pre-treatment measurement systems
  • Construction of fencing, access roads, pedestrian pathways, and surface hardening for pre-treatment facility maintenance

How does the implemented solution work?

In the newly constructed facility in Łódź, we implemented the HYDROZONE BENEFIT retention tank, one of the most advanced solutions available. It enables not only water retention but also its reuse, achieved through pre-treatment devices and the operation of a hydrofit system with appropriately selected vegetation.

 

How does it work? The retention tank, with a total capacity of 900 m³, collects stormwater, which is pre-treated as it flows through a series of devices that remove suspended solids and floating contaminants. Hydrocarbon substances are eliminated using a lamella separator. Additionally, organic pollutants are filtered out in the hydrofit section, thanks to the planted vegetation and gravel layer. To keep the retained water fresh, aeration and flushing jets have been installed. These devices supply oxygen to the tank, preventing water stagnation and decomposition.

The retention tank installed by Ecol-Unicon is divided into three sections:

 

  1. Operational Section (0.5 m height, 150 m³ capacity) – The water collected here is reused for municipal purposes, such as street cleaning, channel flushing, green space irrigation, and sewer maintenance. Additionally, it supplies water to the hydrofit section during dry periods. In such cases, the water circulates in a closed loop, flowing through the filtration layer and back into the tank to ensure continuous plant irrigation.
  2. Working Section (1.5 m height, 450 m³ capacity) – This section retains incoming stormwater, which is subsequently pumped into the hydrofit system for treatment of organic pollutants.
  3. Emergency Section (1.0 m height, 300 m³ capacity) – This section provides overflow retention in case the working section reaches its capacity, for instance, during pump system failures.

Ecol-Unicon was also responsible for surface development around the pre-treatment facility. The area surrounding the tank and the Sokołówka River serves as a recreational space for the residents of Łódź, making the visual aspect of the project equally important.

 

The investment at Liściasta Street in Łódź demonstrates a comprehensive approach to stormwater retention. The project focuses not only on water storage but also on pre-treatment, enabling its reuse for municipal purposes and green space irrigation.

Such technological solutions reflect the latest global trends, which, in the face of climate change, aim not only to retain water but also to reuse it for other purposes.

 

An implementation on this scale is truly innovative and paves the way for future projects. It can be successfully applied in urban areas dominated by concrete surfaces and other sealed city squares, offering a much-needed introduction of greenery to such spaces.

 

The use of a prefabricated tank significantly shortened the installation time, allowing the project to be completed within the planned schedule. The project was carried out in a city park with limited available space, which required careful intervention in the existing tree stand. We selected construction methods that minimized tree felling to the necessary minimum. The earthworks were conducted in the Sokołówka River valley, where the groundwater level was high. Here, the use of concrete and the weight of prefabricated components proved advantageous, counteracting buoyant forces and facilitating assembly onto the foundation slab.

 

Przemysław Dębski, Service Department Director, Ecol-Unicon

Zakres prac

Our client in this case was a company located in Lithuania, dealing with the distribution of various types of cereals. The project was implemented thanks to our representative in Lithuania, UAB Prespa.

 

This is our first project, delivery and installation carried out entirely by Ecol-Unicon outside Poland.

It represents a milestone in the development of the company’s activities on foreign markets, as we have already delivered not only the product itself, but the same range of services as on domestic territory, and the assembly itself took us only two days.

 

The tank measures 10m x 6m, with a capacity of 174.5 m3. Inside, it is divided into 2 parts by a wall that acts as an overflow baffle. Thanks to the baffle, the larger parts that enter the tank are retained in the first chamber, then the water overflows into the second chamber, from which it is pumped out through pumps located on the tank lid.

Applied solutions

High-efficiency coalescence separator ESK 20

 

  • Total capacity – 20 dm3/h
  • Total weight – 3100 kg
  • Weight of the heaviest element -2300 kg
  • Oil storage volume – 480 dm3
  • Diameter of inlet/outlet DN – 200 mm
  • Diameter – 1200 mm

Applied solutions

Settling tank EOS 2000 x 1:

 

  • Active volume – 5 m3
  • Total weight – 10750 kg
  • Sediment layer thickness – 80 cm
  • Diameter of inlet/outlet DN – 1000 mm
  • Diameter – 2000 mm

High-efficiency coalescence separator ESK-BH II 6/60/1200/250:

 

  • Total capacity – 15 dm3/s
  • Total weight – 3400 kg
  • Weight of the heaviest element -3300 kg
  • Oil storage volume – 220 dm3
  • Diameter of inlet/outlet DN – 250 mm
  • Diameter – 1200 mm

High-efficiency coalescence separator ESK 15:

 

  • Total capacity – 15 dm3/s
  • Total weight – 2900 kg
  • Weight of the heaviest element -2200 kg
  • Oil storage volume – 480 dm3
  • Diameter of inlet/outlet DN – 200 mm
  • Diameter – 1200 mm

Applied solutions

Further success in Lithuania. Together with strategic partner Prespa, Ecol-Unicon was honored to supply a brand new rainwater treatment line for Boar Crossing between Lithuania and Belarus. Construction works should be ended within the next few months but three sets of settling tanks and high-efficiency separators are ready to serve with good faith and fidelity to protecting the environment.

Settling tank EOS 2000 x 3

High-efficiency coalescence separator ESK 100 x 2:

 

  • Total capacity – 100 dm3/h
  • Total weight – 8200 kg
  • Weight of the heaviest element – 6300 kg
  • Oil storage volume – 1900 dm3
  • Diameter of inlet/outlet DN – 315 mm
  • Diameter – 2000 mm

High-efficiency coalescence separator ESK 80 x 1:

 

  • Total capacity – 80 dm3/h
  • Total weight – 8200 kg
  • Weight of the heaviest element – 6300 kg
  • Oil storage volume – 1900 dm3
  • Diameter of inlet/outlet DN – 315 mm
  • Diameter – 2000 mm

Neutralizer parameters

  • Total capacity – 400 m3/h
  • Gross weight – 3400 kg
  • Tank width – 2000 mm
  • Tank height – 1910 mm

The first such system in Poland

The ventilation, dust removal and deodorization system implemented for the Sorting Hall at the Solid Waste Utilization Plant in Tczew is the first such system in Poland, and probably even in Europe.

 

It all started with months of research conducted jointly with the Department of Toxicology of the Medical University of Gdańsk.

Air composition analyses were carried out in the Sorting Hall as well as on its roof, in a research model specially constructed for this purpose.

 

These studies, in addition to the precise determination of chemical compounds in the air, were designed to select the most effective active carbon mixture that would be used for the deodorization phase.

 

Signing of the Innovation Partnership agreement with town municipality of Tczew took place on April 7, 2017.

Assembly and tests

Wtedy właśnie rozpoczęła się druga faza projektu czyli montaż urządzeń. Koncepcja została przygotowana przez dr inż. Andrzeja Staniszewskiego. Zakładała montaż 3 niezależnych systemów, z których każdy składał się z systemu wentylacji, odpylania i dezodoryzacji.

Montaż zakończył się odbiorami oraz rozruchem urządzeń, który nastąpił 19 lipca. W tym samym dniu wykonano również badania tzw. zerowe wspólnie z GUMed. Cały projekt wszedł w ostatnią fazę, która skupi się na badaniach pozwalających na ostateczne dopasowanie mieszanki węgla aktywnego.

 

Ecol-Unicon, jako Generalny Wykonawca Inwestycji, do współpracy zaangażował partnerów: firmę SCROL, która realizowała montaż urządzeń oraz spółkę BIOPRO odpowiadającą  za realizację badań.

Technical description of the investment

The system consists of three independent systems and several stages of research and testing enabling individual adjustment of the system.

 

Technological solutions included in the ventilation, dust removal and deodorizing system:

  • Modernization of ventilation, carried out by the implementation of three independent systems, including a new system of channels ensuring at the same time effective collection and removal of dust and selected odorogenic substances, the total length of the channels is over 160m.
  • Dedusting devices – execution of 3 independent systems ensuring efficiency up to 60 000 m3/h.
  • Neutralization of odors and selected toxic substances – construction of three independent devices ensuring the removal of odors and toxic substances. After dedusting the polluted air from the hall, it is directed to the bed, where it is cleaned as it passes through a material that neutralizes odors and toxic substances. The flow of dust-free air is realized by blowers installed in the ventilation-dedusting-deodorization process line. The neutralizers are filled with two types of bed in a total amount of 36 m3

Customer needs

The client struggled with the excessive emission of odour and toxic substances from the newly created sanitary sewage network, including as part of the project “Organizing the water and sewage management of the Słupia and Łupawa rivers in the Sierakowice Agglomeration” and “Construction of a sewage system with connections and sewage pumping stations in the villages of Mściszewice, Węsiory, Kistowo, Skoczkowo, Bukowa Góra and Żakowo in the Sulęczyno commune”.

Applied solutions

Over 100 pcs of EMF-600/570/CH sub-manhole filters with active carbon filling. Additionally, a sublimation layer was used to increase the effectiveness of removing odours.

Applied solutions

ESS-PE

 

Dry well pumping stations with a 2-pump system with a capacity of up to 200 m3/h. The capacity of the pumping station 14-33 l/s.

 

Retention module with dimensions:

 

  • module diameter = 2.60m
  • module height = 1.63m

The pumping station is equipped with:

 

  • Chamber – made of HDPE. There is a hole in the cover equipped with a cast iron manhole cover
  • Retention module – entirely made of HDPE. There are inspection hatches in the upper part of the module, enabling interior inspection, service, cleaning, while the pumping station is in operation.
  • Inlet and outlet piping with a diameter of 100 mm
  • 2-channel solids separators are located inside the retention module
  • Pneumatic system consisting of a compressor, air preparation station and pneumatic valves
  • Pumps (2 pieces) – mounted vertically outside the retention module. Pump protection degree IP 68. Pump operation – alternating.

Applied solutions

Dry well pumping station with a 3-pump system 
with a capacity of  Q = 310 m3/h.

Retention module with dimensions:

 

  • module diameter = 2.80m
  • module height = 3.20m

The pumping station is equipped with, among others in:

 

  • inlet-pressure piping with a diameter of 250mm
  • 2-channel solids separators are located outside the retention module (3 pieces)
  • a pneumatic system consisting of a compressor, air preparation station and 3 pneumatic valves with a diameter of DN200

The pumping station was installed in the DZB tank with the following parameters:

 

  • internal diameter: 5.50m
  • height = 7.25m