WATER WORLD

Blake Wagner from the Kimball Wastewater Treatment plant truly believes the saying, "Water is not yours to waste. We only borrow it from our children and grandchildren."

In the treatment method used at the Kimball facility, future generations will be able to use the water that goes through the facility.

While raw sewage goes into the plant, after a 20-day treatment clean water is returned to Lodgepole Creek.

The current wastewater treatment plant was built in 1979 and activated in 1981. It is located just north and east of Kimball.

According to Wagner, a Waste Water Operator licensed through the state, "It (the plant) is a waste-activated sludge plant meaning we recirculate the active bacteria, we try to hold it to do the treatment naturally. We don't add any chorine, chemicals, anything. It is all natural bacteria that is in the air and in the water."

Confident in the process, Wagner continued, "We just keep it (bacteria) in, circulate it, aerate it, the bacteria attacks the ammonias, the carbon and any pollutes and we filter it out. Bacteria is always growing because we always have food coming in. You have to balance your bacteria with your incoming loads. Excessive bacteria is sent out to the lagoons, where it dries."

Both Wagner and operator AJ Roberts know and understand how important the operation is. They continuously test samples of nitrogen, nitrates, ammonia, alkalinity, and bacteria. Reports are prepared monthly for the state of Nebraska. Wagner said, "It is a lot of science".

Most residents view the sewer and treatment plant as "out of sight, out of mind" until the sewer backs up into their basement or the main sewer line gets plugged.

COVID turned out to be another issue affecting the plant. When the pandemic started, and everyone was using wipes or "flushables," it created mounds of wipes that were caught up in and stopped the grinder.

At present, to prevent damage to the grinder, an employee is using a pitchfork with added tines to collect "flushables" before they hit the grinder or comminutor. "Flushables" are not bio-degradable, so they are collected and sent to the landfill.

On Friday morning, 168 gallons per minute of sewage was flowing into the plant. First, to a concrete influent channel, then the aerator channels, and then clarifiers. As the inflow comes in, there is a settling chamber, where all the heavier stuff settles down, then into the grinder or comminutor, a machine that cuts up solids in raw sewage in preparation for purifying treatment. The Kimball facility treats 150,000 gallons a month. Most towns the size of Kimball just use the lagoons, which Wagner said "don't do anything other than holding it and let it evaporate."

The layout of the plant looks like a racetrack with an oval-shaped aeration channel approximately 20 feet deep. On the inside of the aeration channel are the two circular clarifiers. The clarifiers are 12 feet deep tanks with aeration to separate out suspended particles. Sludge-type contaminants settle to the bottom and are collected, and a scraper arm slowly rotates particles out.

The process takes about 20 days from start to finish, and then clean filtered water is released into Lodgepole Creek.

The city had an engineering report done on the wastewater treatment plant and the needed upgrades, including a generator and Master Control Center (which is the original), which are both "past their useful life and in need of replacement," according to the engineering report. Other upgrades would include a bar screen in a heated building upstream from the grinder, which would remove the real heavy stuff and eliminate the need for the pitchfork method of removing "flushables."

New blowers to aerate the clarifiers are necessary, as well as rebuilding the north and south clarifiers. Additionally, some concrete sidewalks need replacing.

According to Wagner, the plant currently has five blowers, and to nitrify ammonia takes "a lot of air, a lot of air, this is our highest ongoing cost. Last month's electric bill was $2,100."

After the final treatment in the clarifiers and water is returned to Lodgepole Creek, sludge which settles goes to a sludge drying lagoon, and some matter, such as "flushables" and other disposal wipes are disposed of at the landfill.

To prevent the risk of sewer backup into your home or preventing a plugged main sewerline, do not flush wipes, tissues, paper towels, newspapers, coffee filters or a variety of other items down the toilet. Only flush the three Ps – pee, poop and (toilet) paper.