MONTROSE — Expansion is under way at the Montrose wastewater treatment plant to increase its operating capacity by 50 percent in an effort to cope with growth.
“More than half of the people that live here today didn’t live here when this plant was built,” public works director Bob Hurford said.
|
Advertisement |
“Right now, we’re at 80 percent (of capacity),” Hurford said. “That’s really the triggering point.”
He said there are provisions in the city’s discharge permit to begin design and construction to accommodate growth so implementation may begin once 85 percent of the capacity is reached. The site application process is nearing its completion and Hurford said the groundbreaking would probably be earlier than expected.
“I think by the end of August we should see dirt being moved here,” he said.
To finance the $3.55 million project, a grant from the EPA covering 55 percent will be combined with city money from capacity fees.
“When a new house comes on line, they buy a building permit. In that building permit is a connection fee for the sewer system, and a chunk of that is a capacity fee and that goes into a capital fund,” Hurford said.
Sewer bills, which finance operation and maintenance, will not be affected by the expansion, Montrose public information officer David Spear said.
“You don’t want to burden a person who built a home here 30 years ago with a growth-related impact,” he said.
The plant was built in 1984. This will be the first major capacity expansion.
The water moves through a lengthy treatment process, entering through an underground 36-inch pipe and exiting into the Uncompahgre River.
“Once it reaches the plant, that molecule of water will spend about a day and a half in this treatment unit before it finally goes through the plant,” Hurford said.
When it enters the first stage — the bar screen — the muck contains anything flushed down a toilet or otherwise entered into the sewer, such as 2x4s, plastic buckets, rags and even false teeth. These must be removed.
They are screened and transferred to garbage cans.
The raw sewage continues through an aerated grid chamber, where all the grit, sand and eggshells are removed. Next, screw pumps transfer it to two oxidation ditches.
“One of the neat things I think here is you’re dealing with pretty much raw sewage,” Hurford said. “And, uh, the smell is very minimal. You have people sometimes attribute strong smells to wastewater treatment facilities. This one is well-oxygenated.”
Waste moves through the ditches — each of which is 8 feet deep — to be aerated with large brushes. This helps to create an ideal environment for bacteria to break down the waste.
The secondary clarifier is a large pool where the bacteria sludge settles and is scraped from the bottom and skimmed off the top. It is put through a centrifuge and eventually trucked to a farm, where it serves as fertilizer for animal feed crops.
The clear water escapes through weirs and flows to the final step, at which any remaining pathogens are removed.
Two channels allow the water to flow through a building in which eight banks of ultraviolet lights emit disinfecting radiation. The higher the flow, the brighter they burn.
“The peak flow starts at about 10 a.m. and lasts until about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. The low period of the day is about 6 a.m.,” WWTP superintendent Allen Coriell said.
The water exits through a pipe, where it is channeled into the Uncompahgre River.
“I think this is the best facility in town — this is a happening spot,” Hurford said.
“When you see what comes up at the front and you look back here and you see where it comes out, you’ll go ‘That’s what it’s all about. It’s a miracle,’” Hurford said.
“The miracle happens in here.”
Contact Robert Allen via e-mail at roberta@montrosepress.com
Kaitlyn Heichel wrote on Nov 3, 2009 2:01 PM:
Sarah Bond wrote on Jul 13, 2009 5:31 PM: