Down the Drain - a View of Wastewater Treatment

Down the Drain

Most of us do it many times a day. We turn on the water to wash our hands, to brush our teeth. We wash our clothes or wash the dishes. We shave and shower. We flush the toilet. And for many of us, we never think about what happens to that water once it leaves our sinks, baths or toilets.

Once the water leaves our houses, it travels for many miles down pipes, through pumps called lift stations. For the people on the eastern side of High Point, NC, it flows into the Eastside Wastewater Treatment Plant on Riverdale Road. Randy Smith, the Chief Operator at the plant gave me a tour of the facility, and explained how things work.

The Eastside plant was originally built in the late 1920’s. At that time, it was a very simple primary treatment facility. What that means is that the wastewater flowed into the facility, into a primary treatment tank. There, the solids in the water settle to the bottom of the tank, and the water flows out of the top and into the receiving waters. Through the years, the treatment of wastewater has advanced. Today, not only are the solids removed from the wastewater, but also many chemicals are removed too. Tighter restrictions and regulations by the states and EPA have contributed to cleaner water leaving the wastewater plants.

In 2004, the Eastside WWTP was upgraded to treat 26 mgd (million gallons per day) and to remove phosphorous and nitrogen from the wastewater. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus lead to significant water quality problems including harmful algae blooms, hypoxia and declines in wildlife and wildlife habitat.

Smith has been with the Eastside plant for the past 24 years. He says in just that amount of time, the operations of the plant have changed dramatically. Today, many of the processes in the plant are constantly monitored by computers. Even though the computers are gathering the information, operators are still needed to watch over the plant and do any adjustments that may be needed. An operator...