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From right, Mayor Norman Sanders, city manager Marc Maxwell and utilities director James Jordan discuss the new Thomas Road plant wastewater aeration system. Staff photo by Taylor Nye -
Mayor Norman Sanders (left) gets some help from construction superintendent Kirk Newman in adjusting aeration levels for the new wastewater system at the Thomas Road plant. Staff photo by Taylor Nye
City Government
Describing it as a fantastic day, director of utilities James Jordan said he “couldn’t be more excited” to test the effectiveness of newly installed aerators at the Thomas Road wastewater treatment facility on Aug. 7.
Presented during the city manager’s report to the regular August session of the city council, city manager Marc Maxwell reported just one day earlier on Aug. 6 the aerators had their first test and the subsequent day began a five-day test necessary for reporting more long-term performance.
On Aug. 7, Maxwell stated he believes the new system will be fully operational by Dec. 24 “under time and under budget.” During the July regular session of the city council, Maxwell had predicted the facility would be ready in January.
According to Jordan, the new aeration system will rely on several separate 300-horsepower engines to diffuse oxygen, rather than the previous system which relies on turbines to manually agitate oxygen into the water.
“You can actually see with the naked eye how much more effective it is,” Jordan pointed out.
“In a town this size, to do a job more efficient is key,” said mayor Norman Sanders, who had the honor of firing up the whisper-quiet engines himself. “We’ve been going through it [updating the facilities] a long time, and I’m just glad to have been a part of it.”
There is every reason to believe the system is already effective, according to Maxwell. At the July city council meeting, Maxwell stated in his manager’s report the facility was already removing .94 milligrams per liter of solid waste from the water.
“This is significant,” Maxwell said. “This time of year, we’re allowed 10 milligrams per liter… we’re seeing regularly now we’re under 1 milligram.”
In August, the facility achieved an even better rating at .64 milligrams per liter of solid waste, according to the manager’s report.
Treated wastewater by the Thomas Road plant does not exceed 5.4 million gallons per day and is released into Rock Creek which then flows into White Oak Creek, and then into the South Sulphur River, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TECQ).
Maxwell said the city is striving to meet the rigorous standards set by the TECQ.
“As it stands now, if you took a glass of drinking water [and the effluent water] and looked at it, you wouldn’t know which one to drink. There’s a difference, but you wouldn’t be able to see it.”
In fact, Maxwell says, he once drank a glass of the effluent water “to prove a point.”
“I was worried about him for a week or so, but he didn’t get sick,” Sanders said.
“It’s high quality. We’re setting new standards for ourselves all the time,” Jordan said.
Maxwell’s dream, he said, is to run a piping system and use the improved wastewater to “top off” Lake Sulphur Springs in the event of a drought.
Until then, says Sanders, “It’s a better day for us.”