By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Public Works Director Brian Clennan explained to the City Council Tuesday how the secondary effluent water treatment for the city works as they prepare to spend money on equipment to upgrade it.
"We essentially have two systems for our secondary treatment," Clennan said. "The first system consists of aeration basin one and aeration basin two. Air is supplied to these two basins by equipment that's located in blower building one. This system was constructed in 1985. It treats roughly 40% of the flow."
A second 2005 system treats the other 60% of the flow. The upgrades are on the older system, in an effort to comply with new state requirements for ammonia levels.
"The improvements are to supply more oxygen to the waste, so that we can reduce our ammonia concentration in the wastewater," Clennan said. "Those improvements will consist of four new blowers, some HVAC improvements at blower building one, new aeration piping. We're also going to have new diffusers installed in aeration basins one and two. These diffusers, what they do is, they basically put out fine bubbles into those basins. Then those bubbles diffuse oxygen into the wastewater held in these two basins."
Also, the city will be relocating the centrifuge and gravity belt cintrate line to improve overall plant operations. The new amendment added $2.1 million to the project. The total contract value at this point is $4.2 million.