 When the wastewater flows into the plant,
it first comes in contact with a rotating pretreatment screen. This
screen is a steel grid style belt, about 9 feet tall, that the water flows through.
The moving belt has little arms that lift debris as the belt rotates upward and then dumps
the debris, which is later hauled away.
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 The second stage of treatment is called de-grit.
In this stage, blowers pump air near the bottom of a tank, forcing air bubble to rise
throughout the tank. This action allows heavier particles to sink down to an auger
that removes this sediment from the tank. The sediment is hauled to a landfill. |
 In the third stage, gravity allows the water to
flow into primary settling tanks that slow the flow, allowing time for
solids such as toilet paper to settle and be separated from the water. Normally
pumped upward to the Aeration tanks.
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 An optional stage prior to the water being pumped
upward is the use of trickling filters. This option is used when
the water is excessively saturated with organic waste. Large arms rotate above a
circular rock bed, distributing wastewater into this basin. When in use, this basin
contains microorganisms. |
 Under normal conditions, the aeration
tanks are the place where the raw wastewater first comes in contact with the
microorganisms. This stage is the heart of the treatment process for organic matter
within the water. Here the microorganisms are balanced with the organic
"food" coming into this tank, as described above on the upper level web page.
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 As the water leaves the aeration
tank and flows to the final settling tank, alum is added. |
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