The print., March 30, 1978, Page 11, Image 11

tudents operate abandoned sewage plant
fanes
k
Lsrnain sewaae treat-
[abandoned in 1975,
Len maintained by *
Ljter/wastewater stu-
fatment plant was
jin 1975 as Milwau-
L treatment plant in
|old one.
»man, College de-
Biairperson of water/
[technology, said that
Lear as well as 18
Lents in his classes
|With the oioeration
L|ary treatment plant.
L of the students
second year students.
Lent plant was re-
[|975, Barkman said,
L operated by stu-
lictical experience.
L of the public to-
Ize water/wastewater
las uneducated and
Lals, said John Ele­
ne student.
What
lo recognize is that a
(¡amount of technical
Is required in order to
Ltment plants of to-
"It's a natural and continual
process," Barkman said.
The remaining effluent is then
piped to Kellogg where it is
treated even further, Eledelen
said.
Eledelen said that'their plant
pipes in daily about 500,000
gallons of raw sewage from a
surrounding
housing develop­
ment and industrial operations
in the Milwaukie area. Most of
this sewage consists of approxi­
mately 99 percent water. The
sewage is then piped to a pre­
liminary treatment basin where
the solids, such as gravel and
other obstructive objects, are
separated.
The remaining sediment is
transferred to the digester where
it creates methane gas. The nat-
ural fuel is burned to heat the
offices and provide optimum
working temperatures for the
digester, Eledelen said.
The sewage left over is then
piped into tanker trucks and
transferred to farms to be used
as tree fertilizer or sent to sani-
The effluent, referred to as
run-off water from the plant,
is then piped to a 215,000gallon
primary treatment tank where
floatible sewage is then trans­
ferred to the digester and the
sediment is transferred to the
first of two aerators. From there,
Eledelen said the effluent is
piped to a mixing tank where the
remaining sewage is mixed with
air.
The sewage is consumed by
biological organisms which feed
upon it. When the impure sew­
age is consumed the* organisms
are exposed to air, which will
cause them to die. More sewage
is then piped in and the process
resumes
once
again,
tary landfills, Eledelen said.
"Laws state that human sew­
age cannot be used as fertilizer
on food crops," he said.
As for mistakes, Barkman said,
they are seldom and few and can
be corrected by Kellog several
miles away.
"Students learn more from
their mistakes," he said. "Over­
all, this group of students is on
top of everything."
A well managed sewage plant
will treat up to 98 percent of its
sewage, Barkman said.
"Our plant,is treating approxi­
mately 95 percent of the sewage
and the other five percent is dis­
charged into the river," he said.
Before, this sewage plant was
discharging all its effluent into
the river. The breakdown or de­
composing process takes about
15-30 days in the river. "We can
accomplish this process in a
period of 6-8 hours at the plant,"
. Barkman said.
Many of the students, after re­
ceiving their associates degrees,
will then be employed as water/
wastewater treatment operators
for both private and public fa­
cilities.
"Four or five of my students
will then go on to four year in­
stitutions to further themselves
in environmental science and
engineering," he said.
Eledelen-
man, plant supervisor
rnctor, explains plant
practices.
¡Aeration tank mixes
the effluent creating
pification.
Photos by Ted McKenna
ohn Eledelen and Bob Blezinski (back to camera)
explain processes involved within the clarification
b "'"
4M™.
'
ihe SIIIW
|MpaH
$ s
w " ■
I
immunity College
centimeters
Colors by Munsoll Color Services Lab
tank to Print reporter. Below, Bob Blezinski checks
up on machinery