P O Box
Phone: 570.339.5166
Fax: 570.339.5987
Waste Water Treatment Plant Facility
657 Brennan’s
Phone (570) 339-0472 - Fax (570)
339-0100
Serving the
Public…Protecting the Environment
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the
SEWAGE COLLECTION
When we flush our toilets, when we do a load of laundry or
wash dishes, when we have a shower or a bath we are producing liquid waste.
Liquid waste or wastewater are terms used to describe
sewage. Everybody uses water. Everybody produces sewage.
Used water flows from each home and business through sewer
pipes. These pipes join the sewer main under the street or other right-of-way.
Sewer mains transport the wastewater, by gravity wherever
possible, into larger mains and eventually to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Where necessary, pumping stations called lift stations move the
sewage.
When the sewage reaches the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the
treatment process begins.
Here's a step-by-step guide describing what happens at each
stage of the treatment process and how pollutants are removed to help keep our
waterways clean.
The Primary Treatment Process
1. Screening: Wastewater entering the
treatment plant includes items like wood, rocks, and even dead animals. Unless
they are removed, they could cause problems later in the treatment process.
Most of these materials are sent to a landfill.
2. Pumping: The wastewater system
relies on the force of gravity to move sewage from your home to the treatment plant.
So wastewater-treatment plants are located on low ground, often near a river
into which treated water can be released. If the plant is built above the
ground level, the wastewater has to be pumped up to the aeration tanks (item
3). From here on, gravity takes over to move the wastewater through the
treatment process.
3. Aerating: One of the first steps
that a water treatment facility can do is to just shake up the sewage and
expose it to air. This causes some of the dissolved gases (such as hydrogen sulfide,
which smells like rotten eggs) that taste and smell bad to be released from the
water. Wastewater enters a series of long, parallel concrete tanks. Each tank
is divided into two sections. In the first section, air is pumped through the
water.
As organic matter decays, it uses up oxygen. Aeration
replenishes the oxygen. Bubbling oxygen through the water also keeps the
organic material suspended while it forces 'grit' (coffee grounds, sand and
other small, dense particles) to settle out. Grit is pumped out of the tanks
and taken to landfills.
4. Removing sludge Wastewater then enters
the second section or sedimentation tanks. Here, the sludge (the organic
portion of the sewage) settles out of the wastewater and is pumped out of the tanks.
Some of the water is removed in a step called thickening and then the sludge is
processed in large tanks called digesters.
5. Removing scum: As sludge is settling to
the bottom of the sedimentation tanks, lighter materials are floating to the
surface. This 'scum" includes grease, oils, plastics, and soap.
Slow-moving rakes skim the scum off the surface of the wastewater. Scum is
thickened and pumped to the digesters along with the sludge.
Many cities also use filtration in sewage treatment. After the
solids are removed, the liquid sewage is filtered through a substance, usually
sand, by the action of gravity. This method gets rid of almost all bacteria,
reduces turbidity and color, removes odors, reduces the amount of iron, and
removes most other solid particles that remained in the water. Water is
sometimes filtered through carbon particles, which removes organic particles.
This method is used in some homes, too.
6. Killing bacteria: Finally, the wastewater
flows into a 'chlorine contact' tank, where the chemical chlorine is added to
kill bacteria, which could pose a health risk, just as is done in swimming
pools. The chlorine is mostly eliminated as the bacteria are destroyed, but
sometimes it must be neutralized by adding other chemicals. This protects fish
and other marine organisms, which can be harmed by the smallest amounts of
chlorine.
The treated water (called effluent) is then discharged to a
local stream.
R. Wastewater Residuals: Another part of treating
wastewater is dealing with the solid-waste material. These solids are kept in
tanks called 'digesters.' Here, bacteria break down (digest) the material,
reducing its volume, odors, and getting rid of organisms that can cause
disease. The finished product is mainly sent to landfills, but sometimes can be
used as fertilizer.
THIS SITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
|
Webmaster
Email: joebass@verizon.net |
Last modified: |
Authority Office Email: mcboro@verizon.net |
