The Jackson Pike Wastewater Treatment Plant, located in Columbus Ohio, along with the Southerly Plant are responsible for treating a combined average of 208 million gallons of water per day [1]. Founded in 1937, the Jackson Pike Plant first treated approximately 50 million gallons of water per day. To keep up with a growing Columbus population, the wastewater plant has been upgraded to treat 150 million gallons per day. On September 7th, 2017 Carnell Felton, the plant’s assistant plant manager took myself and the OSU CBE 5761 class on a tour around the plant to demonstrate the water treatment process. Felton walked through the process how waste water from Columbus and 22 suburban comminutes is treated. This process takes wastewater …show more content…
Lab testing for metals, pH, and oxygen levels is done on the water leaving the facility to ensure that there will be no damage done to the river ecosystem when the water is released. However, during times of high rainfall there is an influx of water, and it can cause the facility to flood, causing waste and sludge to contaminate nearby land and water. In these cases, waste may contaminate water sources such as rivers and ponds. Additionally, nearby land could get damaged and require …show more content…
Without it, there would be a large amount of pollution in local water streams, causing ecological and economic damage across the region. The plant is likely to last for a very long time, as beyond its current utility, projects are in progress to further lower costs and increase the effectiveness of the plant. In addition to the reservoirs being added to prevent overflow, plans being made for using excess methane gas from the decomposition of sludge as fuel for electric generators. Once implemented, the plant could see significant decreases in operating costs, as the plant becomes more self-sufficient on its energy supply. The Jackson plant does an effective job at treating waste water, and has room and momentum for even better performance in the future, with ongoing projects, that will keep it operating for a long time to