Wastewater Department
What is wastewater treatment?
Wastewater treatment plants:
· Remove solids, everything from rags and plastics to sand and smaller particles found in wastewater;
· Reduce organic matter and pollutants–naturally occurring helpful bacteria and other microorganisms consume organic matter in wastewater and are then separated from the water; and,
· Restore oxygen–the treatment process ensures that the water put back into our rivers or lakes has enough oxygen to support life.
Where does wastewater come from?
· Homes–human and household wastes from toilets, sinks, baths, dishwashers, garbage grinders, clothes washers and drains.
· Industry, Schools, and Business–chemical and other wastes from factories, food-service operations, school activities, hospitals, shopping centers, etc.
· Storm Water Infiltration and Inflow from Runoff and Groundwater–water that enters the sanitary sewer system during a storm, as well as groundwater that enters through cracks in sewers.
Wastewater Department Work in Progress
Sewer System Rehabilitation
Where: East and Southern Areas
Prevention of sewer overflows, extended system life and treatment plant capacity
Rehabilitation of the East Oxidation Ditch
Location: Wastewater Treatment Plant
To increase the efficiency of the Wastewater Treatment Plant
Barkley Bridge Sewer and Pumping Station
Where: Garner Road
Provide sewer service to areas south of Nanceford Road and west of Garner Road
Wastewater Department News
Thompson Road Sewer Line / Morgan Center Update
Work continues on new sewer lines and gravity main along Thompson Road to serve Phase 1 of the new Morgan Center Business Park, says Glen Partlow, HU Engineering Services Manager.
The project includes 4,600 feet of 12″ gravity sewer, 5,200 feet of 10″ force main and a 600 gallon-per-minute pump station at the 135 acre park.
Utility construction should be completed by the end of the year, and the remainder of the site preparation should be finished within nine months. Currently construction crews are realigning Byrd Road and creating a new entrance for the Business Center.
“Although the site has been shown to prospective industries, typically, reps are looking for ready sites,” explains HU General Manager Ferrell Vest. “Right now the site is similar to a prospective homeowner looking at a beautiful lot that doesn’t have electric, natural gas or water – most people want that infrastructure in place before they will start building,” he explains.
“In the near future, we’ll be able to show a ‘ready site’ to prospective industries,” Vest says.
Centrifuge at Wastewater Treatment Plant Now In Place
Sludge produced by the Wastewater Treatment Plant will no longer be deposited into the sludge pond at the plant, now that the plant’s new centrifuge is operational.
The centrifuge will dewater approximately 36,000 pounds of sludge per week. The solid material output by the centrifuge will then be placed in a drying bed until it is dry enough to be transported to a landfill.
In July 2010, Hartselle Utilities staff began working diligently to find a solution to the ever-growing sludge problem. Since 1987 sludge from the plant has been held in a sludge pond, which is now at capacity. The total budget for the project was $983,500.
“From start to finish this project has gone very well,” says Hartselle Utilities General Manager Ferrell Vest. “Our staff was able to do this in-house, without hiring a consultant, and finished the project on time and on budget.” He continued, “We took a mix of people from a cross-section of the company, and they worked together as one unit. Regardless of the challenges that arose, they were able to pull it off. I’m very pleased at the great team effort by everybody.”
Sludge Pond Vegetation Removed To Make Way For Dredging Equipment
Hartselle Wastewater Treatment Plant staff worked long hours in July of 2010 removing vegetation, including willlow trees and tomato plants, which had sprouted in the sludge pond at the plant, shown above left.
Waste sludge in the pond is seven feet deep and must be removed, says HU General Manager Ferrell Vest, to improve the holding capacity of the pond. HU has been approved for a grant from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for sludge dredging equipment to dewater the sludge and separate the solids, which can then be disposed at the Morgan County Landfill.
Before the sludge dredging equipment could be brought in, however, crews had to remove the vegetation which had almost completely covered the two-acre pond. The photo above right shows the progress crews had made after two and a half weeks.
WWTP Completed Second Year of 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan
Crews at HU’s wastewater treatment plant have replaced the west screw pump – which lifts 2,400 gallons of influent wastewater each minute and dumps it into oxidation ditches at the plant – along with several smaller repairs around the screw pump. According to Robert Wright, HU Sanitary Sewer System Superintendent, when the project was completed in February 2011 this completed all budgeted improvement items for the fiscal year, and brought the wastewater treatment plant up-to-date with repairs and improvements included in the 2007 Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan.
In addition to replacing the 33-foot screw pump, one of three at the plant, contractors from Sue-Jac Construction replaced damaged and missing handrails around the screw pump, replaced the lower platform grading, repaired the sluice gate to the pump, and installed fall protection around the ladder leading up to the screw pump.
Sanitary Sewer System Upgrades Completed
In 2001, Hartselle Utilities began a detailed study for a daunting project: to rehabilitate or replace 42 miles of sewer lines running beneath the city. At that time, parts of the sewer system were over 60 years old, and broken pipes, damaged manholes and faulty sewer connections allowed outside water to enter the system. Infiltration, from groundwater, and inflow, from surface water (commonly referred to as I/I) took up capacity in the system and frequently caused wastewater to overflow out of the system. These overflows created a health hazard and threatened the environment in Hartselle, and the HU board approved an aggressive upgrade program to correct the problems.
The project was divided into four phases. The first three phases addressed I/I problems; Phase 4 centered around HU’s 23-year-old wastewater treatment plant. Work on the project began in 2002, with 13 basins requiring repairs. During the next six years, HU replaced or repaired 1,968 manholes; 490,604 feet of gravity sewer lines; 53,182 feet of force main lines; and installed an I/I Diversion facility at the plant.
On January 12, 2003, HU entered into a voluntary Consent Order with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to complete the sewer upgrades by 2008. The projects were based on a schedule adopted by the HU Board in 2001.
“We are happy to report that Phases 1, 2 and 3 of our sanitary sewer system upgrades were completed by August 2006, well ahead of compliance with our Consent Order with ADEM,” says HU General Manager Ferrell Vest. “Phase 4 of the plan began in 2007, and work on the wastewater treatment plant continues.”
The overall I/I project cost just over $5 million. With assistance from Rep. Bud Cramer, HU received three EPA Special Needs Grants totaling $2.8 million to help finance the project. HU was required to provide matching funds for the grants, which it did through a combination of funds on hand and low interest loans from the ADEM State Revolving Fund (SRF).
“Had we not asked for the money from the federal government,” Vest says, “we would not have received the grants. We still would have had to correct the problems in the sewer system, but our customers would have had to directly foot the bill for the entire project. ”
In 2006, HU received the national PISCES award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the sewer system improvements. The PISCES, which stands for “Performance and Innovation in the SRF Creating Environmental Success,” recognizes “systems that achieve significant environmental and economic benefits with an innovative and effective project,” according to ADEM, which nominated HU for the award.
“I commend Hartselle Utilities for winning this award and I am pleased that these improvements advance ADEM’s goals for water quality protection and safeguarding the environment,” said ADEM Director Trey Glenn.
Students Tour Wastewater Treatment Plant
In April students from two Microbiology 220 classes taught by Dr. Don Collier at Calhoun Community College toured the HU Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). WWTP Lead Operator Glenn Byrum gave the students an overview of the plant, which treats an average of 2.4 million gallons of wastewater each day.
“We explained to the students how microorganisms – we call them ‘bugs’ – are a key part of our treatment process, and how we work to keep a balance between the different kinds of bugs,” Byrum said. There are three types of bugs that feed on the organic matter in the WWTP’s treatment process: mesophilic, psychrophilic, and thermophilic, he explained to the students. Plant operators must work to keep a good balance between each type of bug, oxygen levels and the amount of solids during processing, Byrum said.
“By showing the students the different processes that wastewater goes through from the time it enters our system as influent until leaves as effluent into the creek, they were able to see and smell the difference in the water during each stage of treatment,” he said.
The students, most of whom are a part of Calhoun Community College’s Nursing Program, were also given a tour of the WWTP lab, where samples from different parts of the plant are analyzed according to regulations specified by ADEM and EPA. Plant operators regularly test for ammonia, TSS (total suspended solids), fecal matter, BODs (biochemical oxygen demand), chlorine, and pH levels.
“I’ve enjoyed speaking to these classes,” Byrum said. “They were very respectful, and asked very good questions.”
Additional student groups are scheduled to tour the WWTP this fall and winter, and HU welcomes classes interested in learning more about wastewater treatment. For more information, call Sewer System Superintendent Robert Wright at (256) 773-5712 or email rwright@hartselleutilities.com.