Sifting through the sludge creates clean solutions

  • Published
  • By Heidi Hunt
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The impact of the gulf coast oil crisis has shown us the harmful realties when dangerous chemicals are released into the environment. In an effort to reduce pollution, Team Whiteman's is doing its part to decrease its environmental foot print.

To ensure water is up to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources standards and to guarantee Team Whiteman releases safe and quality water in to the earth, the 509th Civil Engineer Squadron Wastewater Treatment Plant works around-the-clock to treat all sanitary industrial wastewater generated on-base.

"Wherever you have people who live and work, you will have the need for water, in turn the need for proper treatment and disposal," said Mr. Paul Tracy, 509th CES plant foreman. "Our mission is to provide safe treatment of generated wastewater."

This industrial maze begins when wastewater enters the plant through a collection system encompassing more than 58 miles of sanitary and industrial sewer lines throughout the base. The wastewater can also be transferred from areas of low elevations, by one of its 40 wastewater pumping stations before actually entering the wastewater treatment plant.

It then makes its way through a cleaning process of primary settling clarifiers, trickling filters, final settling clarifiers and then through a tertiary treatment process that produces clean water to be returned to the environment.

"Each phase of the process plays a significant role to ensure quality control," said Mr. Tracy. "Every effort is made to ensure the water released back into the environment is the cleanest and highest quality. In addition to meeting the MoDNR standards, we work to provide the best customer service by providing the best treatment possible."

The final process is complete the water goes to the lab for additional testing.

"We test the wastewater to determine if the plant meets and exceeds the reductions for total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand," said Mr. Scott Lewellyn, 509th CE specialist. "From these analyses, our plant averages a 96 percent removal efficiency which is well above the 85 percent that the state requires."

According to Mr. Tracy, the team works hard to improve its mission and have recently installed ultraviolet light disinfection system that will give the facility the capability to disinfect the wastewater, by removing any remaining harmful bacteria in the wastewater.

"Once this system is finalized and approved through the MODNR we will be able to meet any new regulations concerning disinfection of treated wastewater that the state imposes on treatment facilities," Mr. Tracy said. "Overall, we take many intricate steps to ensuring the water quality released is at the highest standards."