I wrote some time ago how I would never again have a picnic at Whitewater Park. The odor was just too bad. But I’ve been following the news about the new sewer plant being built next year, and when it’s done, I’ll have to give the park another chance. At a recent library presentation, I was told that they couldn’t guarantee the new plant would be odor-free; that there might be an earthy smell people wouldn’t find objectionable. I wasn’t convinced. The presenters said they’d be glad to give anyone a tour of the sewer plant, so I took them up on it Sept. 6.
It was interesting to smell the progression of the sewage from its entrance to the plant to where it left the plant headed for the river. Where the sewage entered, it looked as you might imagine and I found the odor almost unbearable, despite all the air-filtering that was in place. Where it left the plant heading to the river, it was clear and I couldn’t smell a thing.
As best I can remember from the tour, the process is as follows: First, the operators remove things that could gum up the machines; apparently, disposable diapers cause the biggest problem.
Then, most of the solids get removed and what’s left gets worked on by anaerobic bacteria.
Later, the liquid goes into open air tanks that are 15 feet deep and the size of a basketball court. They bubble like an enormous spa from all the air pumped into them by giant pumps. This is where the aerobic bacteria do their work. I was told the new plant would have much bigger open air tanks for this part of the operation, but by this point the smell wasn’t bad at all.
They said if any odor came from the new plant, this would be it, and as a gardener, I’d have to agree that it smelled like wet earth and was not unpleasant.
It was an informative tour that satisfied my skeptical mind. I recommend it.
Steve Doob
Durango