Sour Grapes and Saddle Sores
George Hirst
Recycled Water Sept 7, 2006
In June of this year the water tower in Wyoming was found to be leaking. The tower was drained down on June 5th and repaired. If the water is shut off,for any reason, a precautionary boil order is issued. After the repairs were completed the water was tested twice. The results were clear, the EPA was notified, and the boil order was removed. Should contamination have been found, the boil order would have been left on until the tests were clean.This information came from Don McCauley, contractor for water and sewer maintainence in Wyoming in a visit that I had with him to learn the reason for the boil order.
The visit, as is usual with Don, took some time and resulted in my learning how fortunate we are in Stark County that Don lives and works here providing the city with water that is safe to drink and the wastewater is safe to return to the earth. The boil order that was issued before the work was started on the repair was done according to the rules. It should be understood that this was a precautionary measure and not a response to a problem.
The water that is used in Stark County towns comes from an aquifer which is 1300 to 1900 feet below ground level. That water is thought of by most of us as fresh water, in fact, it is not, it is centuries old. It has been through many uses. In all of those times, since water is a solvent, it has disolved various minerals and added them to its content.The quality of water in any locality is affected by wherever that water has been and what it has picked up along the way.
There are State and Federal laws that govern the quality of both the water that is furnished to a population as well as the wastewater that is returned to the rivers and creeks. In short, water is treated as it comes out of the ground and treated again as it is recycled.
Bradford, Toulon and Wyoming have Reverse Osmosis plants that remove minerals including radium from the water. The water is also disinfected, usually, by the use of chlorine. Wastewater is treated to remove contaminents and stored to remove organic materials in a settling bed. It interesting that the wastewater as it is returned to the creeks and rivers is cleaner than the water in the river. The sludge is pumped out of the Wyoming settling beds and spread on accepted land sites. Don said that 13.9 tons of sludge had been taken from the treatment plant in the first half of this year. Bradford dries the sludge and stores it as compost on their sites and Toulon disposes of sludge on their plant site.
The three towns in the county have water treatment plants which use the latest methods in both the preparation of potable water and removal of contaminents from wastewater, and in all of our villlages' wastewater is treated at state standards.
Don McCauley is the certified operator of both the treament plant as well as the water systems for the City of Wyoming. He also assists Bradford with their operations. Shane Milroy is Toulon's certified operator. Albert Koehling is Bradford's Water and Sewer Superintendent. The water in Stark County is in good shape and under skilled care. That is a selling point for people looking for a place to live as well as own a business.
Don has worked for the City of Wyoming since 1972,at that time he was Sewer and Water Superintendent. In 1984 the wastewater treatment plant was built and 1993 tthe RO plant was installed. Don became the contractor for water and wasterwater treatment and plant maintainence in 1993. He obtained his A Certifcate for water in 1993 also his Class 1 Certificate for wastewater treatment.
SourGrapesAndSaddleSores
George Hirst
Recycled Water Sept 7, 2006
In June of this year the water tower in Wyoming was found to be leaking. The tower was drained down on June 5th and repaired. If the water is shut off,for any reason, a precautionary boil order is issued. After the repairs were completed the water was tested twice. The results were clear, the EPA was notified, and the boil order was removed. Should contamination have been found, the boil order would have been left on until the tests were clean.This information came from Don McCauley, contractor for water and sewer maintainence in Wyoming in a visit that I had with him to learn the reason for the boil order.
The visit, as is usual with Don, took some time and resulted in my learning how fortunate we are in Stark County that Don lives and works here providing the city with water that is safe to drink and the wastewater is safe to return to the earth. The boil order that was issued before the work was started on the repair was done according to the rules. It should be understood that this was a precautionary measure and not a response to a problem.
The water that is used in Stark County towns comes from an aquifer which is 1300 to 1900 feet below ground level. That water is thought of by most of us as fresh water, in fact, it is not, it is centuries old. It has been through many uses. In all of those times, since water is a solvent, it has disolved various minerals and added them to its content.The quality of water in any locality is affected by wherever that water has been and what it has picked up along the way.
There are State and Federal laws that govern the quality of both the water that is furnished to a population as well as the wastewater that is returned to the rivers and creeks. In short, water is treated as it comes out of the ground and treated again as it is recycled.
Bradford, Toulon and Wyoming have Reverse Osmosis plants that remove minerals including radium from the water. The water is also disinfected, usually, by the use of chlorine. Wastewater is treated to remove contaminents and stored to remove organic materials in a settling bed. It interesting that the wastewater as it is returned to the creeks and rivers is cleaner than the water in the river. The sludge is pumped out of the Wyoming settling beds and spread on accepted land sites. Don said that 13.9 tons of sludge had been taken from the treatment plant in the first half of this year. Bradford dries the sludge and stores it as compost on their sites and Toulon disposes of sludge on their plant site.
The three towns in the county have water treatment plants which use the latest methods in both the preparation of potable water and removal of contaminents from wastewater, and in all of our villlages' wastewater is treated at state standards.
Don McCauley is the certified operator of both the treament plant as well as the water systems for the City of Wyoming. He also assists Bradford with their operations. Shane Milroy is Toulon's certified operator. Albert Koehling is Bradford's Water and Sewer Superintendent. The water in Stark County is in good shape and under skilled care. That is a selling point for people looking for a place to live as well as own a business.
Don has worked for the City of Wyoming since 1972,at that time he was Sewer and Water Superintendent. In 1984 the wastewater treatment plant was built and 1993 tthe RO plant was installed. Don became the contractor for water and wasterwater treatment and plant maintainence in 1993. He obtained his A Certifcate for water in 1993 also his Class 1 Certificate for wastewater treatment.
SourGrapesAndSaddleSores