Wastewater Treatment Services is comprised of Administration, Operations, Maintenance, Biogro, and Laboratory. There are 52 FTE in this division with an annual operating budget of approximately $9 million.
Mission:
To meet or exceed the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) administration of these CWA rules.
Operations
The Willow Lake Water Pollution Control Facility (WLWPCF) and River Road Wet Weather Treatment Facility (RRWWTF) are responsible for treating the wastewater generated by the citizens of Salem, Keizer, Turner, and other unincorporated areas of Marion County served by the sewer collection system. Salem’s wastewater treatment service population is approximately 229,000 people. The performance of the facilities is measured on a daily basis through the collection and analysis of influent and effluent samples. The results of the analysis confirm compliance with the operating permit regulatory standards. These standards are designed to protect in-stream water quality and the health of the organisms living in and around the Willamette River.
Maintenance
The maintenance department executes an aggressive preventative maintenance program to keep existing and new equipment at WLWPCF and RRWWTF operational and reliable. Upgrades and enhancements to the Electrical, Mechanical, and Distributed Control System (DCS) have significantly improved both facilities.
Biogro
The Biogro program ensures that all 34 million gallons of biosolids (primarily organic product produced from the wastewater treatment process) produced at WLWPCF are beneficially reused in an environmentally sound, publically acceptable and cost-effective manner consistent with all state and federal biosolids regulations and management practices.
Laboratory
The laboratory analyzes samples supporting many programs throughout the City including, wastewater treatment, water treatment and distribution, industrial billing and pretreatment and stream and storm water monitoring. The laboratory is Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ORELAP) accredited and performs many different types of analysis including, microbiological, metals, solids and nutrients.
Major Accomplishments 2010-2011
*Implemented Continuous Improvement Team (CIT) made up of front-line employees to solve complex plant problems.
*Began discussion with industry and other agencies to potentially bring additional revenue sources to City of Salem by fully utilizing additional treatment capacity.
*Willow Lake Water Pollution Control Facility received a National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) Gold Award for 2010.
*Continued to perform preventative and corrective maintenance to keep Willow Lake operating in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner. Provided support for Operations and the I&E department.
*Realized a saving of 45 percent on costs associated with the Eastern Oregon Winter Transport Program by storing the entire winter's dewatered biosolids production (8225 wet tons) in a privately owned local barn.
*Became accredited for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 200.5 for drinking water analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP).
Statistics for 2010-2011
*The wastewater treatment capacity 205 million gallons per day (mgd)
*The average wastewater flow to WLWPCF and RRWWTF was approximately 45 mgd.
*The Willow Lake Water Pollution Control Facility treated 16.4 billion gallons of wastewater in FY 2010/11
*Approximately 900 acres were available locally for application of winter stored biosolids.
*The laboratory tested approximately 15,000 samples which resulted in approximately 55,000 analyses.
*Land applied 3257 dry tons of Class B Biosolids on 1300 acres of local beneficial reuse agricultural sites in the Willamette Valley.
*Maintenance department closed 1608 corrective work orders