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Oconomowoc Wastewater Treatment Facility Tour
The Oconomowoc Wastewater Treatment Facility is part of the City's Utility Department that also consists of water and electric service. We are located on the south end of Worthington Street and treat all wastewater generated by residential, commercial and industrial property in Oconomowoc as well as five sanitary districts and the Okauchee Lake area.
Our facility has been used as a research center and has hosted visiting engineers and municipal officials from all over the world. We welcome visits by area civic groups and teachers and students grade five and older.
Tours may last anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour and a half, depending upon the age level of the visitors. To schedule a tour, contact our business office at 262-569-2192.
Below are some interesting facts about the facility:
- The facility and collection systems are monitored 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, through the use of modern computer systems.
- The WTF contains an on-site laboratory where extensive daily testing of wastewater from various treatment stages is conducted.
- The wastewater is treated by eight major processes or steps. These include: screening and pumping, grit removal, primary settling, activated sludge, secondary settling, filtration, disinfection, and oxygen uptake.
- The treatment process is a continuous, ongoing sequence of steps which operates 24 hours/day, 365 days/year.
- The Activated Sludge treatment step is one of the most significant steps in the treatment process. The process utilizes concentrated microorganisms in a natural environment to convert pollutants in the wastewater to biomass. The biomass is continually returned to the process to maintain the treatment process.
- Wastewater sludge, the byproduct of the treatment process, is processed to reduce volume in a three step system, including air floatation thickening, anaerobic digestion, and gravity thickening.
- In the sludge digestion process, an average of 15,000 cubic feet of methane gas is produced daily and utilized to offset natural gas use for heating of the process and plant buildings.
- After the processing of sludge is complete, the nutrient rich, stabilized byproduct is transported to area farms where it is incorporated into the cropland for soil enrichment and fertilization.
- Very few chemicals, at minimal volumes, are used in the process.
- Over 17 billion gallons have been treated since the plant was put on line in June, 1977.
- The average daily volume treated at the plant is 2.3 million gallons.
- The maximum daily volume treated was 6.937 million gallons on April 20, 1993.
- The wastewater collection system contains 62.5 miles of sewer main ranging in size from 8" to 60" in diameter, and fifteen pump stations located throughout the City for pumping wastewater from low areas.
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