New splitter box among recent changes at wastewater treatment plant
Photos by Shari Harris
From left, Derek Hammond and Chad Shepherd stand in front of the new office/laboratory/garage building which is under construction at the City of Licking Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Progress continues with the City of Licking’s wastewater treatment plant upgrade. The new splitter box has been completed, and was brought online in December. The new generator has arrived, interior work has begun on the new lab/office/garage building, and a block building shelters the new headworks as work on the internal structure of the headworks continues.
The new splitter box is already online and improving the function of the plant.
A new generator is in place and is expected to be online in the next couple of weeks.
Plant manager Derek Hammond says the new splitter box has already improved the function of the plant, improving the consistency of the flow into the two clarifiers and making it much easier to adjust the flow to clarifiers. Hammond was pleased with the speed at which Mid-State Pipeline achieved the transition to the new splitter, completing the process within two days after the concrete set.
Hammond anticipates the new generator should be online within two weeks. This will allow the old generator to be taken offline and removed, which must be done to make room for more work on the new headworks.
The old generator and a shed will need to be removed from the south side of the block building covering the new headworks before the headworks can be completed.
Interior work is progressing in the new building which will house the laboratory, office and garage. Hammond is eager to begin using the heated garage portion of the building, which will allow the plant’s jetter machine and mud vac to be kept inside, out of the weather. Currently this equipment must be winterized after each use to prevent damage from freezing. The heated garage will save time and the expense of repeated winterizations once it is able to be used.
The new headworks is expected to save the City thousands of dollars each year, and is the most important aspect of the project. The concrete work of the headworks is completed, and equipment and piping continues to be installed. The current headworks is about 65 percent efficient in cleaning trash and other damaging materials from the effluent before it reaches the pumps; the new headworks should be 80 percent efficient. The City is getting ready to put in a new pump due to damage to the previous pump from material that made it through the headworks. The new headworks should reduce pump repairs and replacements.
The old headworks, at the front left of the photo, will be removed after the new headworks, contained in the block building, is online.
Hammond anticipates the headworks to be online before summer. Phase two of the project will likely begin in the summer or fall. The current filter building will be replaced, with new filters installed. The internal workings of the clarifiers will be replaced as well. New UV lights are another component of the second phase.
Hammond and Chad Shepherd are excited to see the progress that has been made and equipment coming online. Any extra steps they need to take now to coordinate their work with Mid-State Pipeline’s construction will be well worth it in the long run.
The new office/laboratory building will include a heated garage to keep equipment from freezing during the winter.
