Improvements making Dowagiac sewer plant more efficient

Published 10:46 am Wednesday, September 13, 2017

By Ted Yoakum

DOWAGIAC — While the job has not gotten any more glamorous, the process of treating the community’s sewage water is now smoother and more automated than ever, thanks to some new technology and equipment.

Over the past several years, Dowagiac leaders have committed millions toward improving the operations of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, located near the edge of the city limits on State Road. Many of these improvements are now in place, with the last major batch of construction work at the site slated to take place in October, said James Bradford, the director of public services with the city.

Beginning in September 2015, crews began making a series of $2.5 million worth of upgrades to the plant.

These improvements included the installation of new pipes and containers for the plant’s aeration tanks, which are responsible for removing harmful residues from sewage water as well as promoting the growth of helpful bacteria that helps remove flecks of solid waste that were not purified in the first stage of the treatment process, Bradford said. Powering the tanks are a number of new blowers, which help regulate the amount of oxygen being pumped into the tanks.

“The equipment is all alarmed,” Bradford said. “If one of them fails at 2 a.m., one of us is getting a call to come out here and reset them.”

The city also installed two new filtration machines, which pump water from the two clarifier tanks, which helps remove solid particles from the waste water after going through the aeration tanks, to the pair of chlorination contact chambers, which disinfect the water of harmful chemicals before discharging it into the Dowagiac Creek, Bradford said.

The city also replaced a litany of pipes, valves, pumps, belt drives, electronics and other small equipment that have suffered damage due to the corrosive materials involved in the treatment process, Bradford said.

Construction on the equipment was wrapped up in spring.

The improvements were critical to ensuring the plant — which last saw major maintenance in the 1970s — could continue running 24/7, Bradford said. Prior to the construction, crews were constantly “putting out fires” while on the job, he said.

“It has made everything a lot smoother,” Bradford said. “Because of that, it has allowed us to pour more man hours into maintenance.”

The site is currently staffed by a crew of four — two employees with the department of public works and two with a private company, F&V Operations, one of whom oversees the operations of the plant.

Ensuring smooth operations of the wastewater plant is a priority for the city, not just because of the service it provides to its residents, but also to people living across the county. The facility treats an average of 1.8 million gallons of sewage water from the city, Sister Lakes, Indian Lake, Cassopolis and Porter Township.

“Most people look at this plant as something that just affects Dowagiac,” Bradford said. “But this site encompasses a lot of places and a lot of people.”

The city will replace the plant’s clarifier tanks beginning next month, which will cost around $300,000, Bradford said. That work should mark the last of the major improvements to the plant, though the department said city leaders will plan to make smaller improvements on a regular basis moving forward.

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