Wastewater Management and Treatment
The
City of Tallahassee's sanitary sewer collection system is comprised
of approximately 675 miles of gravity pipe and is connected to over 15,000
manholes. The gravity system is supported by over 85 pumping stations using
approximately 100 miles of force main.
This sewage system transports raw sewage from the homes and businesses in Tallahassee to one of two wastewater treatment facilities--the Lake Bradford Road (LBR) Wastewater Treatment Facility or the Thomas P. Smith (TPS) Water Reclamation Facility. These pipes that carry sewage are completely separate from the system that carries your potable water and separate from the stormwater system.
The
Lake Bradford Road facility has a design capacity of 4.5 million gallons per
day (MGD). The Thomas P. Smith Facility can treat 27.5 MGD and is capable
of handling peak flows up to 55 MGD. The influent into both facilities is
monitored at several points throughout the city by the Industrial Pretreatment
Section with analytical support from the Water Quality Lab.
This serves to protect the delicate microbial ecosystem in each plant from
possible harm due to chemical toxicosis. It is the microbes that drive
the aerobic decomposition and anaerobic digestion of the raw sewage to
eventually form a safe effluent that can be dispersed back into the environment.
The by-products of this decomposition are eventually separated into water
and a solid portion of the effluent known as the bio-solids.
The majority of the treated water is reused for spray irrigation on agricultural crops and pasture. City facilities used for effluent spray irrigation include the Southwest Sprayfield, located adjacent to the TPS plant, and the innovative Southeast Farm Wastewater Reuse Facility located eight miles east of the TPS Facility.
In addition, the Water Utility has broken ground on a new water reuse treatment plant that will significantly enhance the environment. The new Tram Road Reuse Facility (TRRF) will use highly treated wastewater to irrigate the South Wood Country Club golf course, all of the extensive landscaping at the State of Florida Capital Circle Office Complex, and along the Blueprint 2000 Capital Circle Southeast improvement project. The TRRF will have a production capacity of 1.2 million gallons per day.
Approximately two million gallons a day are reused at the TPS Facility for plant operations and landscaping irrigation. That effluent is constantly monitored by our Water Quality Lab for a variety of chemical parameters to ensure that it meets both state and federal regulations for disposal.
Recently installed technology has enabled the City
of Tallahassee to advance its wastewater treatment capabilities. The new
Dragon Dryer® sludge drying system produces reusable "Class A" biosolids,
which can be sold as a beneficial fertilizer and soil conditioner to commercial
nurseries, agricultural markets and other businesses. The Dragon Dryer
unit became fully operational March of 2005 at the Thomas
P. Smith Wastewater Treatment Facility.
This unique, single-pass -drying system reduces the wastewater treatment plant's sludge volume by 75 percent, virtually eliminating the need for spreading biosolids on land.