By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
In 2016, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) implemented more stringent criteria for nutrient removal at wastewater treatment plants. Future recommendations seem likely to become requirements and communities like Great Bend are trying to keep up with the clean water initiative.
Great Bend has been working with KDHE to remove ammonia, nitrate
and phosphorus at levels that they have not been able to before. Assistant
Public Works Director Jason Cauley says staff has been trying with little to no
success to meet these needs by manually switching on a mixer.
"Initially, we need to remove the ammonia," said Cauley. "We add a lot of oxygen to it to convert the ammonia into nitrate. Then we take away the oxygen and it turns into nitrogen. Then the nitrogen gas evaporates."
KDHE and an independent contractor, Clean Water Ops, recommended automating the
process with a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to
achieve complete success.
Cauley says the system will have expansion
capabilities, which will allow the city to eventually provide controls for the
water wells and lift stations. In doing so, that would eliminate the problem
the city had when electricity went out from a June storm and water wells did
not turn back on.
"This system would allow us to monitor wells remotely," said Cauley. "It will allow us to see issues before they turn into larger issues."
The Great Bend City Council approved the $148,272 SCADA system purchase from
Hammeke Electric out of the Public Works capital outlay fund.