Wastewater Treatment Process

Wastewater Treatment Process

Residential Use:

The average resident uses 40-60 gallons of clean water per day and all the clean water that comes into homes in one pipe, goes out of the house in another pipe as wastewater.


Wastewater:

The spent water of the community, from the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and solid waste from residence, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with ground and surface water. This is not a combined storm and sanitary sewer system so there should not be ground and surface water in it.


Treatment:

Any process involving the removal of solids or non-aqueous liquids from wastewater and transforming them into stable substances.


Preliminary Treatment:

Preliminary treatment at our plant is done with an Automatic Bar screen that removes large solids. A Pista Grit Chamber is also used to remove large and small inorganic solids or (grit) which are then sent to a landfill.


Primary Treatment:

At our plant it is done with two clarifier tanks, known as sedimentation or settling tanks. Solids are given time to settle to the bottom. These solids, called primary sludge are pumped out of the bottom of the tank. They are sent to a sludge digester for further treatment. Any scum, oils or grease are skimmed off the top of the wastewater, and are sent to the digester for further treatment.


Digester:

The solids from sewage in the Primary units, together with the water removed with them are put into the digester. In the digester the sludge is heated to a temperature of 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit, decomposition (breakdown) of organic matter takes place and reduction of 70 % of the water in the sludge by drawing off supernatant from the sludge. The sludge is stored in the digester for 60-90 days for total digestion. The sludge from our plant is trucked in liquid form (3-6 % solids) to Monroe County Pure Waters for further treatment and disposal.


Secondary Treatment:

It is done with a Trickling Filter and Secondary Settling Tanks. In the trickling filter, wastewater from Primary tanks is sprayed over plastic media (6 feet deep) which are covered with Biological Growth, which change the waste into less harmful substances and are temporarily attached to the filter media (plastic). The attached material eventually falls off and is carried in the flow of the filter. For this reason, the filter is followed by Secondary Settling tanks or Clarifiers to permanently remove these solids from the wastewater.


Tertiary Treatment:

This is the final treatment process at our facility. This can also be called a polishing process. It works as follows: The water flows by gravity into the filter segments. Solids are separated from the water by the 10 micron filter panels mounted on the two sides of the disc segments. The solids are retained within the filter discs while the clean water flows out. When the water level rises the filter drum will rotate while high pressure nozzles spray the collected solids off the panels and into a backwash pipe. The back wash water will be sent to the beginning of the plant to be treated. After the wastewater is treated it is discharged into the Honeoye Creek.


Suspended Solids:

The quantity of material deposited when water, sewage or other liquids are filtered through a fiberglass filter in a gooch crucible.


Dissolved Oxygen:

Is the oxygen dissolved in sewage, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in a specified time and a specified temperature.


Biochemical Oxygen Demand:

The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) test gives the amount of oxygen used by microorganisms to utilize the substrate (food) in wastewater when placed in a controlled temperature for five days. The DO (dissolved oxygen) is measured at the beginning and recorded. During the five-day period, microorganisms in the sample break down complex organic matter in the sample, using up oxygen in the process. After the five-day dark incubation period, the DO is again determined. The BOD is then calculated on the basis of the reduction of DO and the size of the sample. This test is an estimate of the availability of food in the sample (food or organisms that take up oxygen) expressed in terms of oxygen use. Results of a BOD test indicate the rate of oxidation and provide an indirect estimate of the availability to organisms or concentration of the waste.


Lab Tests:

At the Honeoye Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant, lab tests are done for the following:

PH Temperature Settleable solids Total Solids DO BOD:

The limits of the discharge into Honeoye Creek are 10 mg/l for Suspended solids and 15 mg/l for BOD, with an 85 % removal of both.


Reports & Inspections:

The plant reports to the State of New York DEC each month on the performance of the facility. The plant is also inspected once a year by the DEC.


Wastewater Diagram