Wilson, NC 27894 Box 10 P.O. Reclamation Facility Water City of Wilson and Treatment System Report System Treatment and Wastewater Collection Wastewater City of Wilson Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Year Fiscal “Some Things Just DON’T Belong in the Toilet” Toilets are meant for one activity, and you know what we’re talking about! When The following is a partial list of items that the wrong thing is flushed, results can include costly backups on your own prop- should not be flushed: erty or problems in the City’s sewer collection system, and at the wastewater 6 Baby wipes, diapers treatment plant. That’s why it is so important to treat toilets properly and flush 6 Cigarette butts only your personal contributions to the City’s wastewater system. 6 Rags and towels 6 Cotton swabs, medicated wipes (all brands) “Disposable Does Not Mean Flushable” 6 Syringes Flushing paper towels and other garbage down the toilet wastes water and can 6 Candy and other food wrappers create sewer backups and SSOs. The related costs associated with these SSOs can 6 Clothing labels be passed on to ratepayers. Even if the label reads “flushable”, you are still safer 6 Cleaning sponges and more environmentally correct to place the item in a trash can. 6 Toys 6 Plastic items 6 Aquarium gravel or kitty litter 6 Rubber items such as latex gloves 6 Sanitary napkins “It’s a Toilet, 6 Hair 6 Underwear 6 Disposable toilet brushes NOT 6 Tissues (nose tissues, all brands) 6 Egg shells, nutshells, coffee grounds a Trash Can!” 6 Food scraps 6 Oil 6 Grease 6 Medicines Wilson, NC 27894 Box 10 P.O. Reclamation Facility Water City of Wilson and Treatment System Report System Treatment and Wastewater Collection Wastewater City of Wilson Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Year Fiscal “Some Things Just DON’T Belong in the Toilet” Toilets are meant for one activity, and you know what we’re talking about! When The following is a partial list of items that the wrong thing is flushed, results can include costly backups on your own prop- should not be flushed: erty or problems in the City’s sewer collection system, and at the wastewater 6 Baby wipes, diapers treatment plant. That’s why it is so important to treat toilets properly and flush 6 Cigarette butts only your personal contributions to the City’s wastewater system. 6 Rags and towels 6 Cotton swabs, medicated wipes (all brands) “Disposable Does Not Mean Flushable” 6 Syringes Flushing paper towels and other garbage down the toilet wastes water and can 6 Candy and other food wrappers create sewer backups and SSOs. The related costs associated with these SSOs can 6 Clothing labels be passed on to ratepayers. Even if the label reads “flushable”, you are still safer 6 Cleaning sponges and more environmentally correct to place the item in a trash can. 6 Toys 6 Plastic items 6 Aquarium gravel or kitty litter 6 Rubber items such as latex gloves 6 Sanitary napkins “It’s a Toilet, 6 Hair 6 Underwear 6 Disposable toilet brushes NOT 6 Tissues (nose tissues, all brands) 6 Egg shells, nutshells, coffee grounds a Trash Can!” 6 Food scraps 6 Oil 6 Grease 6 Medicines Our Mission is to “Protect our Environment and Water Quality, 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 Clean Water Act 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 reclaimed water system • 94 sewer services replaced • Bar Screens – catch and remove large material (beneficial reuse) to be used for irrigation 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 Sanitary Sewer 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 (settling) 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 sewage 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 – Secondary Treatment 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 Sludge – 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 drinking water 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 activated sludge 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 Suspended Solids) – 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.