Whether you are challenged by clogged lagoons in mining, managing sediment build up in retention ponds, or facing hazardous sludge in industrial tanks, UCC is your one-stop solution. With cutting edge technology, decades of experience, we transform murky aquatic environments into thriving natural resources. Our divers are ready to provide expert commercial dredging, sediment and sludge processing services for your site, including:
• Turnkey design
• Underwater imaging
• Regulatory permitting support
• Hydraulic dredging
• Commercial diving
• Sediment processing
• Water storage tank cleaning services
• Water treatment
UMPS, a Division of UCC for Commercial Dredging & Water Storage Tank Cleaning Services
In 2021, UCC acquired Mineral Processing Services LLC, forming the division UMPS.
The acquisition targets power-generation customers needing commercial diving, combined with high-rate commercial dredging and dewatering of
sediments and industrial sludges. The Smartfeed® chemical program prepares pumped slurries found in pits, ponds, and lagoons for dewatering, using Geotube® geotextile dewatering structures. This results in dried materials ready for recycle, reuse or approved disposal options.
UMPS was founded in 1999, with the primary purpose of designing, building and operating process equipment for the mining industry.
Since then, UMPS has expanded to providing high-capacity water/solids separation systems for product recovery and wastewater treatment. A cornerstone of UMPS solutions is the TenCate™ Geotube® textile dewatering structures. UMPS also developed and vends the Smartfeed® chemical conditioning system, capable of processing 1,200 – 4,000 gpm of material flow.
Smartfeed® Sludge Dewatering Services
Smartfeed® is an industry-first in precise chemical program management for the optimization of sediment/sludge dewatering. It produces high-clarity, processed water for regulated discharge, often directly back to the source. In addition, UMPS supplies high-capacity, portable clarifiers (2,000 gpm) for large dewatering projects, taking up small operational footprint areas.
UMPS supports diver hand-vacuum commercial dredging projects that require high -production sediment removal from water intake infrastructure. Such support uses compact-portable, barge-mount or land-based turnkey sediment treatment systems that can be staffed for 24/7 operations. UMPS often supports critical plant turnaround schedules for critical underwater intake/discharge infrastructure maintenance tasks.
Water Storage Tank Cleaning Services with Geotube®
UMPS uses Geotube® containers, which are a proven, cost-effective sediment dewatering solution. Geotube® engineered textiles are an economical solution to water storage tank cleaning services, pipe cleaning, and containment infrastructure dewatering/desludging.
In industrial applications, large geotextile Geotube® containers can be used to dramatically reduce sediment volume, and concentrate contaminants of concern in the dewatered fractions, meeting regulatory criteria in preparation of the solids for either onsite internment or offsite disposal.
Geotube® engineered geotextiles allow for the dewatering of dredged spoils onsite, while typically achieving at least a 50% volume reduction. Premobilization bench-scale treatability testing of representative sediment samples provides clients with excellent prediction of performance for their site-specific project conditions.
Geotube® geotextile containers achieve outstanding dewatering of sediments by the rapid gravity draining of excess water from the container through the pores in the fabric. This results in effective dewatering and volume reduction. In most cases, the decanted water is of a high enough quality that it can be returned to native waterways or be reused without supplemental treatment.
Leverage Our Commercial Dredging and Dewatering Solutions
Along with Geotube®, UMPS’ flagship technology, the Smartfeed® chemical conditioning system, is a leader in dredged slurry process control for portable dewatering projects.
The Smartfeed® system was built to serve projects where time and precision cannot be sacrificed. It is fully scalable from 100 – 4,000 gpm dredging operations, dramatically improving the performance – and reducing costs – of any polymer-assisted dewatering program. By using Geotube® containers and eliminating the need for mechanical dewatering (such as a belt-filter press; plate & frame press; centrifuge, etc.), the sediment/sludge dewatering cost of a project may be reduced up to 40%.
Each Smartfeed® application is custom-tailored to the slurry or sludge at that project site based upon initial bench-scale treatability testing.
The Smartfeed® system measures, in real time, the dewatering performance of each Geotube® container in the project, and corrects chemical conditioning automatically to improve dewatering performance for each geotextile structure.
The system provides daily reporting of project progress and end-of-project performance summary data that consistently matches or exceeds project expectations. The Smartfeed® system has been employed successfully in dewatering dredged fresh and saltwater sediments, mine runoff sedimentation basins, power plant coal fines / coal ash lagoons, coal and nuclear power plant water intake structures / cooling bays along with municipal water and wastewater sedimentation lagoons.
The Smartfeed® system delivers a major step forward in risk mitigation management and daily total quality management for sediment/sludge dewatering projects, providing the metrics a client requires to demonstrate proper project management to their stakeholders.
Cost-Effective Underwater Mineral Processing Services
UMPS technology supports UCC to be a total, vertically integrated contractor providing turnkey design, underwater imaging, regulatory permitting support, hydraulic dredging, commercial diving, sediment processing, water storage tank cleaning services, and water treatment. 
UMPS is at the forefront meeting new regulatory permit requirements for the removal and processing of invasive species like zebra mussels from water intake infrastructures using Hi-G dewatering technology. Reach out to our experts today and learn how our commercial dredging and dewatering solutions and technologies can benefit your project.
Contact Our Experts About Your Commercial Dredging and Dewatering Needs
If you have a potential commercial dredging or dewatering project that UMPS can assist with, please visit “Spec Your Project” and send us the completed form. We look forward to learning more about your specifications and how we can help you meet your commercial dredging and dewatering goals.