The Pleasant Grove Wastewater Treatment Plant is a regional plant that processes millions of gallons of wastewater daily and never stops running. Because critical utilities don’t have a pause button, how does essential equipment maintenance happen at the plant? The simple answer is with coordination and the work of many hands.
This month, the wastewater utility took an all-hands approach to maintain the oxidation ditch, a crucial part of the treatment process. In this circular basin, bacteria use oxygen to break down waste, effectively cleaning the water before it’s released back into the environment. It’s like giving the water a good scrub using natural helpers (the bacteria) and plenty of oxygen.
“This project cleans the grit (small, heavy particles like sand and gravel) and rags out of the oxidation ditch. Over time, grit and rags build up and reduce the capacity a basin has, and lessens the ability to properly operate.” Norm Woods, Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Grade V shares, explaining the work being done in one of the plants oxidation ditches- 14 feet deep oval ditches which, when operating, churn 3.5 million gallons of water throughout their channels. “This project has to be done every five to eight years to protect downstream process and keep the integrity of our oxidation ditch capacity.”
Roseville’s wastewater collections team is the lead group of the project given their trade expertise but other groups in the utility are also assisting; including plant operations, the lab workers and maintenance technicians. This massive undertaking has been possible due to the coordination and hard work of Roseville employees, who work day in and day out to fill bins with the grit and rags, which are then transported to the landfill.
It’s a tough job, but our crew is up for the challenge, showing hard work and grit, in the grit.
