Before the first Muffin Monster grinder was installed, Clark County Detention Center had no effective way to reduce waste in the effluent wastewater being received at the City of Las Vegas Water Pollution Control Facility. According to Lloyd Noffsinger, maintenance and operations supervisor for CCDC since 1984, WPCF staff was continually contacting his office to find out how certain items were ending up in their facility. Unfortunately, CCDC needed funding to support any new wastewater projects. 

Inmates were using their toilets as trash cans, flushing everything from T-shirts, shoes, books and blankets down the sewer system. Of course, when WPCF showed Noffsinger and Carlos Goodin, CCDC maintenance assistant, a picture of a bright orange jail-issue shirt emblazoned with ‘CCDC’ in their headworks, it was a clear indication that they needed funding for the grinders, and soon.

When the CCDC was originally built in 1984, it was a 12-story building, designed with 1,450 beds. An expansion of the center was finished in 2002, adding an additional 320,000 square feet and 1,300 beds. CCDC processes approximately 59,000 bookings per year from 30 local and state agencies, resulting in an average of 2,700 inmates housed at the center daily. The center has a staff of approximately 3,000 employees. With this increase of housing space and activity, the detention center faced the challenge of keeping effluent wastewater moving without any clogs in the facility’s lift station or large solids passing to the city wastewater facility. 

The first grinder, positioned underground, between the booking building and parking structure, successfully reduced wastewater solids. CCDC installed five more, and Noffsinger says he is reviewing his budget for the installation of a Macho Monster. “There is little to no maintenance, only yearly checks on the cutter wear and torque, required to keep the grinders running smoothly and clog-free.”

The second grinder was installed underground, about 100 feet from the original one. This grinder has the challenge of being in a high water table area. Noffsinger says they are planning on installing a JWC Immersible Motor to protect the operation of the grinder in the event of a flood in the pit from water seepage.

“One of the most unique points about this facility is the ‘creative’ Muffin Monster installations they require,” says Dick Schalberg, a JWC representative in Henderson, Nevada. Since the building expansion only allowed for one grinder, CCDC was left with the task of finding space to install additional ones.

Of the six grinders, three are underground, one is installed horizontally in a very narrow closet, a larger grinder is hoisted up on a steel support, about 5 feet off the ground, and, the most interesting – a grinder suspended from the ceiling in the laundry area. Four of the grinders process wastewater from specific areas, and all the grinders are equipped with their own PLC control panel. 

Along with JWC’s ability to accommodate the many custom installations, Noffsinger says he is most impressed with the customer support at JWC. “All my questions were answered quickly and efficiently.” JWC Muffin Monsters were chosen as a result of the successful operation of the grinders installed in the Clark County Government Building, located in Laughlin, Nevada, which is also a facility of the Clark County Detention Center. 

The dual-shafted Muffin Monster grinds a wider variety of solids than single-shafted machines, while its low-speed operation results in higher torque and fewer interrupts. Its special cutter teeth were developed specifically for grinding large solids into smaller particles.

Muffin Monster grinders effectively reduce the particle size of wood, clothing, plastics, rocks, sludge and other foreign material that would otherwise foul, clog or damage waste stream and process equipment, typically reducing the handling costs associated with solids removal.

JWC adds that the grinder adapts to most applications with little or no modification to piping, channel or power, and offers high-pressure (90 psi) capability, with no seal flush required and no packing gland to adjust.

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About JWC Environmental
Founded in 1973, JWC Environmental and its worldwide family of employees are committed to providing customers with leading edge products, services and value. JWC Environmental is a leading manufacturer of equipment for wastewater treatment, solids reduction, solids removal and processing. The Monster family of products is legendary for quality and reliability — including the Muffin Monster and Channel Monster sewage grinders, Auger Monster fine screen, Screenings Washer Monster and Monster Separation System, incorporating a fine screen or band screen with superior screenings conditioning. Its superior technology provides solutions for the most demanding applications including sludge grinders, shredders, screens, washer compactors and septage receiving stations.