Eugene/Springfield Water Pollution Control Facility 1984-1991

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~~ ~!_ r PLANT OPERATIONS Pant Operations is responsible for operating the treatment processes in accordance with the waste discharge permit issued by the State of Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality. In addi- tion, the section is responsible for a variety of duties thatfrequendy require close interaction and cooperation with other work groups. ^ PLANT OPERATION On each shift, which begins with a short meeting, work is divided among three operators. One person is assignedthe westendof theplant,which consists of pretreatment, primary treatment, and the solids handling processes. Another operator works the east end, which consists of secondary treatment, final treatment, and waste sludge thickening. The third operator is responsible for all the laboratory process control testing. Each operator makes four rounds each shift. The laboratory operator performs a variety of pro- cesscontrol tests, documents testresults, andmoni- tors the process control computer. If a test result is abnormal or shows trends that may call for process control changes, the laboratory operator informs the operators in the process areas. ^ DESIGN CRITERIA The plantwas designedfor an average dry weather flow of 49 MGD and peak wet weather flow of 175 MGD. The main unit processes are pretreatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment (activated sludge), final treatment (disinfection), and sludge digestion. Design criteria and capacities of the plant and its process units were determined by the engineering The primary goal of Plant Operations is to monitor and control treatment processes to ensure opti- mum treatment efficiency at the lowest possible cost. This is accomplished by a technically skilled staff, strategic planning, and effective use of moni- toring and forecasting tools. If a fourth plant operator is on shift, he or she may be assigned support tasks, such as preventive main- tenance, hosting tours of the plant, writing or revising operational procedures, training, or test- ing apprentice technicians. Plant operators monitor the lift station alarm panel on a 24-hour basis. If an alarm is reported tihey monitor the status, arrange for additional staff if needed, and prepare status reports. Operators also work closely with Maintenance in preventive and corrective equipment maintenance. Operators work with the computer programmer and instru- ment technician analyst to develop programs for the plant process computer, identify computer malfunctions, and. learn new programs and moni- toring Cechniques. firm of CH2MHi11. They used a study of projected population and economic growth through the year 2000 to estimate future residential, industrial, and infiltration/inflow rates. The flow rate estimates were then used to develop design criteria and capacities based on hydraulic loading, BOD load- ing, and suspended solids loading. All critical treat- mentprocesses defined by the EPA were designed with redundant process units.