City of Wilson

Water Reclamation Facility P.O. Box 10 Wilson, NC 27894

(all brands) Tissues (nose tissues, all brands) (nose tissues, Tissues grounds coffee nutshells, shells, Egg scraps Food Cigarette butts Cigarette Rags and towels wipes medicated swabs, Cotton wrappers and other food Candy labels Clothing sponges Cleaning Plastic items or kitty litter gravel Aquarium gloves such as latex Rubber items Sanitary napkins brushes Disposable Baby wipes, diapers wipes, Baby Oil Grease Medicines Syringes Toys Hair Underwear

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City of Wilson

Wastewater Collection and Treatment System Report Fiscal Year 2017-2018

“Some Things “Some Things Just

NOT

a Toilet, “It’s a Trash Can!” a Trash “Disposable Mean Flushable” Does Not and can water wastes the toilet down other garbage and towels paper Flushing with these SSOs can associated costs related The and SSOs. backups sewer create still safer you are “flushable”, if the label reads Even ratepayers. be passed on to can. trash in a the item place to correct environmentally and more erty or problems in the City’s sewer collection system, and at the wastewater the at and collection system, sewer ertyCity’s the in problems or and flush properly it is so important why treat to That’s plant. treatment system. wastewater the City’s to personal contributions only your Toilets are meant for one activity, and you know what we’re talking about! When When about! talking we’re what know and you one activity, for meant are Toilets prop own your on backups costly results include can flushed, is thing wrong the City of Wilson

Water Reclamation Facility P.O. Box 10 Wilson, NC 27894

(all brands) Tissues (nose tissues, all brands) (nose tissues, Tissues grounds coffee nutshells, shells, Egg scraps Food Cigarette butts Cigarette Rags and towels wipes medicated swabs, Cotton wrappers and other food Candy labels Clothing sponges Cleaning Plastic items or kitty litter gravel Aquarium gloves such as latex Rubber items Sanitary napkins brushes Disposable toilet Baby wipes, diapers wipes, Baby Oil Grease Medicines Syringes Toys Hair Underwear

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 The following is a partial following that The list of items be flushed: should not - DON’TToilet” Belongthe in

City of Wilson

Wastewater Collection and Treatment System Report Fiscal Year 2017-2018

“Some Things “Some Things Just

NOT

a Toilet, “It’s a Trash Can!” a Trash “Disposable Mean Flushable” Does Not canand water wastes the toilet down other garbage and towels paper Flushing with these SSOs can associated costs related The and SSOs. backups sewer create still safer you are “flushable”, if the label reads Even ratepayers. be passed on to can. in a trash the item place to correct environmentally and more erty or problems in the City’s sewer collection system, and at the wastewater wastewater the at and collection system, sewer ertyCity’s the in problems or and flush properly toilets it is so important why treat to That’s plant. treatment system. wastewater the City’s to personal contributions only your Toilets are meant for one activity, and you know what we’re talking about! When When about! talking we’re what know and you one activity, for meant are Toilets prop own your on backups costly results include can flushed, is thing wrong the Our Mission is to “Protect our Environment and , through Teamwork and Excellent Service, now and for future generations.”

This report provides information concerning the City of Wilson’s wastewater collection and treatment system performance for July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 as required in the North Carolina of 1999 (House Bill 1160).

HOMINY CREEK WATER Collection System Maintenance Once at the WRF, the treatment process begins. The Returning the Water to Nature or Reusing RECLAMATION FACILITY (WRF) and Projects Completed: treatment plant is designed to treat 14 MGD. The plant the Water • 57 miles of pipe cleaned (about 16% of the entire 359-mile currently averages treating 8.4 MGD. The following Most of this clean water – now called effluent – is system – 10% required) describes the treatment process: discharged into Contentnea Creek but some of the • 5,700 feet of pipe replaced Physical Methods - Primary Treatment effluent is sent to the City’s system • 94 sewer services replaced • Bar Screens – catch and remove large material (beneficial reuse) to be used for or industrial • 130 manholes rehabbed (wood, rocks, etc) as they flow past. process water and cooling water. • 36 grease blockages cleared from sewer mains • Grit Chamber – removes heavy particles that settle rapidly like gravel, sand, seeds and coffee What’s Left Behind Overflows grounds. As the water enters the chamber, Now, what about the material that has been removed gravity causes the grit to settle to the bottom. from the water? These solids are called residuals: heavy • Sedimentation () Tanks – as water flows matter that must be treated in order to safely return to into the tanks, heavy organic particles settle to the environment. The WRF is located in Wilson at 3100 Stantonsburg Road. the bottom and are withdrawn and pumped to It is a state-of-the-art regional treatment plant that pro- the solids handling facilities for additional The following steps are used to further treat the cesses wastewater for approximately 20,000 metered treatment. Floatable material is skimmed off and residuals: customers and a service population of approximately pumped to the solids handling facilities. • Enclosed heated tanks called digesters use 52,500. The City of Wilson also treats wastewater from microorganisms to turn the residuals into inert Primary treatment removes approximately 45% of the the Town of Black Creek, the Town of Lucama and the (inactive), harmless organic matter. Town of Sims. Sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) occur when untreat- pollution. ed is discharged into the environment prior to • Belt filter presses are used to remove water from The term water reclamation defines the treatment or reaching the sewer treatment facilities. These typically Biological Methods – the residuals to reduce the volume that must be processing of wastewater to make it reusable with spe- occur at manholes, pump stations, or broken sewer • Activated – wastewater is mixed with disposed of. cific treatment reliability. Reclaimed water must also pipes. Infiltration/inflow (I/I) is unwanted water that millions of microorganisms. During constant • The treated residuals (organic material) comply with very stringent water quality criteria. The aeration (mixing air containing oxygen into the term water reuse defines the use of treated wastewater enters the sewer collection system through deteriorat- are used by area farmers as a fertilizer and soil wastewater) the microorganisms (bacteria) for beneficial uses, such as agricultural irrigation and ing older pipes, leaking manholes, illegal connections amendment. industrial cooling. The City of Wilson is committed to such as roof drains, etc. During heavy rains pipes can absorb oxygen and feed on the pollutants. • Final Settling Tanks – solids made up of reusing reclaimed water in areas that is become overloaded from I/I and cause SSOs. Pipe stop- Biogas not needed such as irrigation water for Wedgewood Golf pages caused by fats, oils and grease can also lead to microorganisms from the process settle to the bottom. Some of the A by-product of the digestion process described above is Course, the Burt Gillette Athletic Complex and industrial SSOs. Replacing and rehabilitating these lines and microorganisms are sent back to the activated the production of methane gas (biogas). The WRF uses process/cooling water. The reclaimed water system is manholes reduces I/I into the sanitary sewer system, part of the City’s water conservation plan. sludge process to continue eating pollutants and part of the biogas produced as fuel to heat the digesters, thus protecting the public health, improving treat- some are removed and sent to the solids thus significantly reducing the amount of time required ment plant efficiency and reducing system mainte- NPDES PERMIT COMPLIANCE handling facilities for disposal. to digest the solids. The excess is burned off by a waste The WRF was compliant with all NPDES permit nance. Generators provide emergency back-up power gas burner. The City has future plans to install a system limits this year. for pump stations and help prevent SSOs. Secondary treatment removes approximately 95% of that will utilize the excess biogas to generate energy the pollution; however, in order for the WRF to comply that can be used to operate other equipment or used for During fiscal year 2017-2018, the City of Wilson did not with permit limits additional treatment is needed. green energy credits. Table Definitions & Key experience any reportable SSOs. The WRF treated 3.1 PPM (Parts per Million) - a unit of measurement. billion gallons of wastewater during this period. Physical/Chemical/Biological Methods – Parts per million compares to 1 minute in 2 years. Advanced Treatment Customers who observe a sanitary sewer overflow “What The Customer Can Do BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) – a required should report these as emergencies to the City • Nutrient Removal – nutrients (phosphorous and To Help” test that determines the amount of oxygen required of Wilson Unified Communications Center at nitrogen) can cause an overabundance of algae In order to help the City of Wilson continue a high stan- by microorganisms to consume pollutants. BOD is (252) 399-2424. growth in waterways. As the algae dies, bacteria measured in PPM. feed on the decaying matter using up oxygen dard of water quality and protection of the environment Clientes que observan un desbordamiento del please follow these simple steps: TSS (Total ) – a required test that needed by fish and other aquatic life. This drenaje sanitrario, deben reporter estas situa- measures the amount of suspended solids in a sample. depletion of oxygen can lead to fish kills. DO NOT pour grease, fats and TSS are measured in parts PPM. ciones de emergencia al centro de comunicaciones Phosphorous and nitrogen are removed oils from cooking down the drain – unificadas de la Ciudad de Wilson, al telefono biologically and chemically at the treatment instead, collect the grease in a con- FC (Fecal Coliform) – a required test used to (252) 399-2424. plant. tainer and dispose of it in the garbage. determine the presence of disease causing organisms. • – removes those particles that primary FC are harmless but are used as indicators of other How Does Your Publicly Owned and secondary treatment could not remove. DO NOT use the toilet as a waste- organisms (if FC are present others may be present). basket – place a wastebasket in each Treatment System Work? The wastewater passes through sand filters that FC is measured as number of colonies per 100 milliliters bathroom for the disposal of solid remove remaining particles. Filtration removes of sample. The treatment system uses the same physical, chemical waste, disposable diapers, condoms, and biological processes used by nature to clean water. 99.9% of the pollution. Do not pour grease, MGD (Million Gallons per Day) – a unit of measure- and personal hygiene products that fats and oils down Everything we know about water, chemistry, bacteria, • Disinfection – the final stage of treatment uses DO NOT belong in the sewer system. ment for flow volume. sodium hypochlorite (liquid bleach containing the drain. hygiene and engineering has gone into this system we chlorine) to disinfect the water. Disinfection kills DO NOT use the sink to dispose of food scraps – PLANT PERFORMANCE use to purify our wastewater. The City maintains about off any disease-causing organisms that may instead, place food scraps in the garbage for disposal 359 miles of sanitary sewers lines (piping system that remain after passing through the other with solid wastes, or better yet, start a compost pile. Pollutant Concentration collects and transports the wastewater) and 21 pump- treatment steps. Chlorine can cause problems in Ammonia Nitrogen PPM ing stations that help carry wastewater from homes, rivers and streams so we remove the chlorine Average 0.06 schools, commercial buildings and industrial sources before discharging the treated water to Contentnea Creek. Permit Limit 1.0/3.0 (summer - monthly/weekly) to the treatment plant. 2.0/6.0 (winter - monthly/weekly) Biochemical Oxygen Demand PPM Protecting The Neuse River Average 0.3 FOR MORE WATER QUALITY The Lower Neuse River Basin Association, Inc. Permit Limit 5.0/7.5 (summer - monthly/weekly) (LNBA) and the Neuse River Compliance Asso- 10.0/15.0 (winter - monthly/weekly) INFORMATION ciation, Inc, (NRCA) are 501(c) (3) non-profit corporations comprised of municipalities and Total Phosphorus PPM City of Wilson – Water Resources industries located in the Neuse River Basin. Average 0.22 (252) 399-2492 The mission of these organizations is to mon- Permit Limit 2.00 (quarterly) www.wilsonnc.org/water-resources itor and preserve the waters of the Neuse River and Neuse River estuary through innovative Total Suspended Solids PPM N.C. Environmental Education and cost-effective and Average 0.1 www.eenorthcarolina.org Permit Limit 30.0/45.0 (monthly/weekly) reduction strategies. The NRCA group is com- Lower Neuse Basin Association posed of 24 wastewater treatment facilities located in the Neuse River Basin. NRCA was Total Nitrogen Lbs/Yr www.lnba.net issued North Carolina’s first basin-wide NPDES permit for nitrogen control January 1, 2003 Pounds Discharged 54,549 River Guardian Foundation, Inc. and was reissued in January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2014. The group was given a mandate Permit Limit 157,886 to reduce their Total Nitrogen discharge by 30%. Through the combined efforts of its en- www.riverguardfdn.org Fecal Coliform Colonies/100 milliliters (ml) of sample tire membership, the NRCA exceeded the mandated 30% nitrogen reduction by removing NCDEQ Average 3 over 65% of their nitrogen loading to the Neuse River estuary since 1995. (919) 733-2321 Permit Limit 200/400 (monthly/weekly) The City of Wilson is proud to be a charter member of both the LNBA and NRCA. www.deq.nc.gov Chronic Toxicity Water’s Worth It Test Performed Quarterly Passed all Affiliations www.watersworthit.org The City of Wilson Water Reclamation Division is affiliated with the following organizations: Permit Limit Pass or Fail Sound Rivers • Water Environment Federation • N.C. Water Works Association Flow Million Gallons per Day (MGD) • American Water Works Association • N.C. Pretreatment Consortium www.soundrivers.org Average 8.36 • N.C. Water Quality Association • N.C. Rural Water Association Permit Limit 14.00 (monthly) • N.C. Water Environment Association