FAST^® System Basics

• Stable biological wastewater treatment process that has been on the market since the 1970s.
• More than 8,000 FAST^® wastewater treatment systems are installed in the United States and abroad.
• FAST^® produces clear effluent and capably reduces viruses, phosphorus, and an average of 70% of nitrogen.
• FAST^® is proven repeatedly in actual third party testing, including for nitrogen reduction in Massachusetts.

In This Section

Browse through our "FACTS" pages to get the facts on Fixed Activated Sludge Treatment systems. Find out how this unique biological process performs to meet environmental standards.

• The FAST^® Treatment Process
• FAST^® and Our Environment
• FAST^® in Massachusetts
• Third-Party Testing

A Brief History

In the early 1970s, Smith & Loveless, Inc. received a contract from the St. Louis Ship Co. to develop a treatment plant to put on its barges that navigated the Mississippi River. The company was not allowed to dump its wastewater directly into the river. The company also desired to minimize water usage by reclaiming the treated "gray" water for the ship’s flush toilets. By 1976, the patented process called Fixed Activated Sludge Treatment (FAST^®) was available for marine applications.

From this interesting beginning, the FAST^® technology has developed into an entire product line for its two manufacturers, Smith & Loveless Inc. and Bio-Microbics Inc. With more than 8,000 installations, the FAST^® product line now includes:

Factory-Built FAST^®, Field-Erected FAST^®, Marine FAST^®, MicroFAST®, NitriFAST®, RetroFAST™, LagoonFAST®, HighStrengthFAST®,  Mobile FAST^®
High Biomass FAST^®, Modular FAST^® and the Floating FAST^®.