JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. –Have you ever wondered where the water goes after flushing a toilet? On Joint Base Lewis-McChord, it flows to a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant and then to the Puget Sound. An average of two million gallons of wastewater flows through JBLM’s sewers each day, and up to one billion gallons per year.
The WWTP is designed to treat only human waste, all other waste can cause problems. Toilet paper is designed to immediately break down once wet, so the plant does not have to process it out separately. Putting fats, oils, grease, wipes, feminine hygiene products, dental floss, diapers, food or other items not only causes blockages in the sewer lines, but damages pumps and negatively impacts the wastewater treatment process.
Laura Marcasciano, environmental manager for American Water, emphasized the importance of not flushing certain items.
“Many sewer blockages occur between the structure with sewer service and the sewer main. Avoiding blockages could mean avoiding unnecessary plumbing issues,” Marcasciano said. “Unlike toilet paper, many hygiene products and wipes don’t break down once they are flushed. Wipes, even those that are labeled as flushable, can clog your sewer pipes. On a larger scale, when these products make their way into the sewer system, they can collect and cause blockages in the sewer mains, get tangled up in pump equipment, and result in service problems. So, instead of flushing these items down the drain, throw them in the trash.”
Understanding how the WWTP functions helps to understand the importance of only flushing human waste and toilet paper. Wastewater, known as influent, flows through hundreds of miles of sanitary sewer pipes and is first run through a system that separates out any large trash.
Influent is then pumped into primary sedimentation basins, where about 85 percent of suspended solids are settled and removed. Skimming arms in the basin clean up scum, floatable materials, fats, oils and grease that are then pumped off to be processed with the other removed solids. Large trash and any removed solids that are not human waste are sent to the landfill.
The water then flows through a bioreactor where it is biologically treated to remove the organic waste and ammonia remaining in the water. Then, it travels to a micro-filtration system that greatly lowers the turbidity, or cloudiness of the water. Using chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride is unnecessary in the final stage of the JBLM wastewater treatment process due to Ultraviolet light disinfection. UV light instantaneously neutralizes microorganisms as they pass through, and it destroys 99.9% of all bacteria and viruses within seconds of exposure.
What about all those separated solids? They travel to an anaerobic digester, where naturally occurring microorganisms get to work. The microorganisms consume any organic wastes, small amounts of fats, oils, greases, pathogenic viruses and bacteria. The digested solids are then dewatered and moved to a drying bed.
The material that remains is known as a biosolid, a beneficial resource that contains essential plant nutrients and organic matter. Biosolids can be recycled as fertilizer and soil amendments.
Throughout the entire operational process, samples are taken daily to ensure everything meets Environmental Protection Agency permit requirements.
Flushing anything besides human waste and toilet paper results in blockages and adds an extra step to the wastewater treatment process. Blockages can sometimes result in raw sewage entering streets or buildings. If the trash doesn’t cause a blockage and makes it to the WWTP, the team may have to remove it by hand to prevent it from ruining the system. Even though it may seem insignificant to flush extra items, it directly impacts JBLM and the WTTP process.
The JBLM community is encouraged to think before flushing and keep the water
clean.
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