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Show A-8 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, February 8-11, 2020 The Park Record TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD These tanks are where microorganisms break down organic material in wastewater, with a focus on capturing the water’s phosphorus. The new, $50 million Silver Creek wastewater facility has twice the capacity of its predecessor and cleans the water to a higher standard. Continued from A-1 An artisanal market + fine art showcase featuring local Utah artists saturday + sunday presidents' day weekend february 15 + 16th 10am-5pm @ PA R K C I T Y C O M M U N I T Y C H U R C H 4 5 0 1 U T- 2 2 4 PRODUCED BY PA R K C I T Y S U M M I T C O U N T Y A R T S C O U N C I L PA R K C I T Y P R O F E S S I O N A L A R T I S T A S S O C I AT I O N INFO: PCSCARTS.ORG Plant is finished goes first into Silver Creek, then the Weber River and on into the Echo Reservoir. Phosphorous, for example, enters the system at about seven parts per million in untreated wastewater. When it leaves the plant, that’s down to about 0.08 parts per million, 92% less than the 1 part per million threshold the plant is currently obligated to meet, Luers said. In addition to nitrogen, the plant is also responsible for treating the water to many other standards regarding things like oxygen levels, ammonia, acidity and suspended solids. Oxygen plays a huge role in how they accomplish the task, Luers explained. By manipulating the oxygen levels in the water, the system “fools” organic microorganisms into discharging the phosphorus they’ve eaten. When those organisms flow back into an oxygenated part of the system, they eat about seven times more phosphorus than they relinquished. If you looked at a sample of the water under a microscope after microorganisms have been introduced, Luers said “it looks like the Serengeti,” with the organisms physically breaking apart organic matter. One way to look at the plant is as a sort of farm for those microorganisms, and the system is maintained to within tenths of parts per million of oxygen levels, for example, to ensure the organisms grow well, Luers said. The microorganisms are phosphorus-rich and once they die and settle to the bottom of the tank, they’re compressed into a soil-like substance that is trucked to the Salt Lake City landfill to be used as fertilizer. Luers said the district is in talks with the South Davis Sewer District to send the microorganisms there instead, where they would be combined with compost and turned into methane that could be compressed into a pipeline and used as fuel. That would help the plant’s carbon footprint, Luers said, as well as its bottom line, as it would be cheaper than the current arrangement. In January, the district trucked out nearly 2 million pounds of the dead microorganisms. Luers explained that Silver Creek water reclamation facility is a tertiary treatment plant, and that it’s held to a high standard because it discharges into Silver Creek particularly close to its headwaters. In the summer months, the creek runs dry, Luers said, and fish and other wildlife are completely dependent on the discharged wastewater to survive. The facility’s superintendent Cody Snyder said the biggest improvement in the new plant is the addition of two equalization tanks that enable the district to closely regulate the water conditions despite massive swings during peak flow times. “We couldn’t hit the targets without them,” Snyder said. The new facility has twice the capacity of the old one, Luers said, up to 4 million gallons per day. During the Sundance Film Festival, the system’s busiest time, Snyder said they were approaching 3.8 million gallons per day. Luers said the two currently operating plants combine to handle about 4 million to 4.5 million gallons per day on average. The system is built to handle the area’s growth, including the 1,300 homes planned for Silver Creek Village right next door. Thankfully for those neighbors, the plant’s odor control system works well, forcing foul air through gravel-like charcoal. Luers said the air system replaces all of the air in the intake building several times per hour. The district plans for its capacity based on what growth has already been entitled in the Basin and makes population predictions based on existing zoning. Luers said the East Canyon water reclamation facility in Jeremy Ranch is already under preliminary planning for an expansion, a process that takes about five years. 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