Last week I had an eye-opening moment at one of the oddest
places. I was chaperoning Mia’s field trip with a bunch of parents to a destination
most of us would probably not find interesting, yet even fascinating until you
end up going there. One of the dads even asked Mia’s teacher if she thought there
was a chance to do a date night there, and it was only halfly a joke. Who would
have thought a waste water treatment plant would be such an amazing place to visit?
Stinky? No. Smelly? No. Cool? Most definitely. Just think about it, they are hosting weddings and events at the Brightwater Center most weekends.
Brightwater sewage treatment facility, located just north of
Woodinville, keeps all waste water in enclosed buildings, covered and hidden
from the world but that is only one tiny portion of the odorless environment at
the plant. Much of the odor control is done through biochemistry, as the
process begins with using bacteria do what they do best—consume the stinky hydrogen
sulfide as a food source. After bacteria has done its job eating away odors the
chemical scrubbers come into place taking the next turn. The third step involves activated carbon. But
this is really no news for waste water pros, maybe apart from it all happening
undercover.
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| On the left wheat fertilized with traditional, chemical fertilizer. On the right wheat fertilized with the end product from Brightwater Treatment Plant. |
What happens next is what makes Brightwater so very special,
it’s walking the extra mile by running the water through a membrane bioreactor.
This technology was first designed to purify drinking water. During this
process wastewater is sucked through porous, spaghetti-sized strands of
synthetic material. As the water is pulled through the pores, it leaves behind
microscopic contaminants, including viruses and some bacteria that aren’t
removed in other treatment methods.
The last step is disinfecting the water by using strong
bleach, killing the remaining pathogens prior to releasing the treated water to
Puget Sound through a Native American blessing. Even though the water is not
drinkable at this stage, it is clean enough to be reused to flush Brightwater
toilets and watering landscape and golf courses around our area.
I’ll have to admit that I knew absolutely nothing about
waste water treatment prior to visiting Brightwater. I knew nothing, and I
learned a lot. I learned and became an advocate as well as changed my own
flushing behavior. I admit I was clueless. I mean, yes, I knew you’re not
supposed to flush an array of things like candy wrappers, hygiene products and
dental floss. But I had no idea flushing a tissue was bad or flushing a paper
towel or a flushable wipe. I mean it says flushable on the box doesn’t it? But
not everything that will go down the drain is supposed to be flushed I guess.
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| Brightwater offers educational programs for youth. |
By remembering the 4 Ps you’ll get quite far, mas the 4Ps
are the only things supposed to be going down your toilet.
Paper (toilet)
Poo
Pee
Puke
…that’s it. Nothing else. And, if you ever get a chance to
visit Brightwater, take it! I think it should be mandatory for all of our children
to visit with school.
Brightwater serves all of Redmond, Woodinville and parts of
South Snohomish County, and is designed to have the capacity to treat an
average of 36 million gallons of wastewater per day.
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