Stormwater enters the Jellyfish® into the height-adjustable maintenance access wall zone via the inlet pipe and is channelled through a large-diameter opening in the cartridge deck into the lower (treatment) chamber. The large opening and change in flow direction attenuate the inflow velocity. Water entering the chamber spreads slowly in a lateral and downward direction throughout the pre-treatment channel, further reducing the average flow velocity and enhancing the separation of pollutants into the high-volume sump. Floatables rise to the surface with some being trapped beneath the cartridge deck and the majority accumulating in the maintenance access wall zone. A separator skirt creates a filtration zone around the cartridge tentacles and protects them by trapping oil and floatables outside.
The pre-treated water then flows beneath the large opening in the bottom of the separator skirt and upwards into the filtration zone, further reducing the average flow velocity and enhancing pollutant separation (generally trapping < 50 microns). As water flows upwards in the filtration zone, the membrane of each filtration tentacle filters out fine suspended particles and particulate-bound pollutants like nutrients, toxic metals, hydrocarbons, and bacteria. As the filtered water passes through the membranes, it enters a perforated centre tube and flows upward and out of the top opening of each filtration tentacle. Flow exiting from each tentacle combines under the cartridge lid and exists through the hi-flow cartridge lid orifice. The combined treated water from the hi-flo cartridges is contained by a height-adjustable backwash pool weir, providing driving head.
When the storm event subsides, the driving head in the backwash pool decreases, reverses the flow direction back into the treatment chamber, and water is displaced through the draindown cartridge(s) located outside the backwash pool. As water exits through the draindown cartridge(s), it is channelled along the cartridge deck to the effluent pipe. For inflow events with a driving head that exceeds the maximum backwash pool weir height, the water is treated through the hi-flo cartridges, overtops the weir and spills onto the cartridge deck flowing towards the effluent pipe.
The system comprises a self-cleaning mechanism. From the reversed flow back into the treatment pool, the system automatically passively cleans the membrane surfaces of the hi-flow cartridges, removing accumulated sediment from the membrane surfaces and significantly extending their service life and maintenance interval. The self-cleaning mechanism occurs at the end of each runoff event and can also occur multiple times during a single storm event as the rainfall/runoff intensities and driving head vary. Cartridges can also be manually backwashed while installed or be removed and externally rinsed. The multiple options for hi-flo cartridge cleaning minimise cartridge replacement costs and life-cycle treatment costs while ensuring long-term treatment performance.
Draindown cartridge(s) are not passively backwashed. A flow control orifice in the draindown cartridge lid controls the design flow rate to one-half the design flow rate of a hi-flo cartridge of similar length and thereby reduces the likelihood of occlusion prior to scheduled maintenance.
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