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SAMPLING AND OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES & SAMPLING FOR WASTE WATER TREATMENT FACILITY
Written by Derek A. Martin Fall2011-EVR1190 10/24/11 Environmental Samplg-350653 Project Assignment #3

JEA W/WWRT-South Grid

10828 Hampton Road Jacksonville, Florida 32257 Contact: Prentiss Garraway Phone: 904-665-8125 Email: garrpm@jea.com

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Sampling and Operational Procedures for W/WWT Facility

I selected to write a report on JEAs Mandarin Waste Water Treatment Facility. I figured that this would be a fantastic topic to discuss and write about, due to the fact that it is outside of my knowledge base. I had a phone call interview with a gentleman from JEA and a site visit to the Water/Waste Water Treatment Facility or W/WWT facility. I will attempt to explain what I saw and the questions and answers I received while walking through this facility. There are many tests done at the facility in an ongoing basis as well as offsite test to monitor progress as well as any error in what is being discharged at any given time. Of course, being in the site work and underground utility business for years I understood that the underground force main and lift stations we were installing were for the purpose of pushing wastewater to these types of facilities for treatment and introduction back into the environment. I did not know how the material was necessarily cleaned or treated and did not understand the methods. When pulling into this facility in the Mandarin area, I was greeted by a great big automated gate. There was an intercom system used for access. Once I was identified the gates opened and I entered. Upon entering I noticed huge pipes made of ductile iron they had to have been at least 24-30 maybe even larger, extending from the ground upward into a building facility. I couldnt even imagine the type of force it would take to fill those pipes and send material upward into the start of this process. I parked my car and went to meet a man by the name of Prentiss Garraway. As I sat in his office I noticed maps of the serviced area which was all of mandarin. Later in the interview I had asked and he said that they also received wastewater from as far as Saint Johns County. I asked Prentiss his position and all the questions regarding his background in this field. His

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position in JEA is W/WW RT Operations Coordinator, Water/Waste Water & Reuse Treatment South Grid. He has been working with JEA for the past 10 years and in the WWT business for an overall time period of 32 years. We discussed where the sampling was done which he answered at the facility and also upstream from their discharge points as well as downstream. Some of these test samples are performed quarterly and some are done semi-annually whether they are governed by the state or federal government. I specifically asked what type of testing they performed at the facility and he explained that it is a mixture of composite testing and also grab tests. Automated computer testing is a regular thing at these facilities and is a 24 hr. process. Workers perform grab test using what he called dipoles. These were made from plastic materials and ranged in size, I guess depending on where the sample needed to be taken. All these sample were permit requirements. The automated systems used were performing test on the reuse or reclaimed water. These test were performed daily or every 24 hrs. JEA has its own lab governed by JEA and also the DEP. This lab has to be certified every year. Outside labs are used from time to time. He said that they are used for special testing that may require a shorter suspense after a significant event. There are many things that the facility is looking for on a daily basis. When asked what the tests were for, he gave me a list consisting of Nitrogen limits to the river, mercury, cyanide and carbon to name a few. When performing the grab samples they have to make an effort to get samples to the lab ASAP. These are fecal samples that have a hold time of 6 hours. These fecal tests are done to make sure that the natural enzymes are doing their job and ingesting the fecal matter. Its also to make sure that the system is limiting that matter it lets pass onto the next level of treatment. All tests are put together in a BNR Report which stands for a Biological Nutrient Removal report. This allows overseeing permitting agencies that the system is operating in the most sufficient manner. The other report is

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a DMR report which stands for Discharge Monitoring Report. This report is used for wastewater facility permitting. However, on a routine basis, self-monitoring information consist of daily, weekly, and monthly effluent quality data. This information is generally reported on either a monthly or quarterly Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) which is issued to the permitted wastewater facility. All operation money comes from revenue by way of your JEA bill. No money comes from the state or federal government. It takes at least a year to start and finish one of these facilities, and they are grand. This particular facility is considered an A plant which means it takes a high rate of flow coming in and handles a lot of wastewater material. This material come through those large effluent pipes into the first facility called the grit system where particles are filtered and hydrogen sulfide is monitored. The sludge material goes through a secondary chamber where they are filtered one more time before being sent to the aeration chambers. Within these chambers which are at least twenty feet deep and have pumps that constantly turn the materials to keep the buildup of foam from getting too high. Mr. Prentiss called this area of the system the scum system. The materials in these chambers look like sludgy chocolate; however, dont be fooled, its someones dinner from yesterday with tampons for skewers. Not a pretty site or a good smell either I might add. Throughout this entire system are these huge 40+ grey ductile iron pipes called the Biomass Reduction System, it is in place specifically for odors. If this system wasnt in place it would stink even worse. In the last aeration chamber there are pipe all slotted with pressured air that bubbles the material like a hot soup, allowing the breakdown of particulates to be achieved. This was really unpleasant! When the material or what he called Mixed Liquor leaves this area it is sent to the primary clarifier, some of the material is sent back through the system from

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secondary pump systems to start the process all over again. The remainder that is sent to the primary clarifiers is now in a process that nature usually does, its just sped up a lot! The solids settle out and the water then skims over and sent to another stage where it is then forced pumped or syphoned up and sent through a sand filter. Half of this material is sent through as Reuse or Reclaimed water and the other is sent through and discharged back into the Saint Johns River. Here in Jacksonville, JEAs plants collect the solids once they have gone through a large UV system. This system sterilizes the viruses in the sludge therefore it doesnt allow them to grow or multiply and they die. It is then processed with polymers to bind the material and is hauled to a facility downtown where it compost and they make pellets which are used by agriculture industries as fertilizer. The name of the game is to have the lowest amount of nutrients enter back into the environment, whether its through reuse lines or the Saint Johns River. This facility was top notch and everyone I met knew there information. They were a tight knit group. I found out that this particular facility has a track record of removing 95.6% of material waste and nutrients from the water they allow to be introduced back into the system. Even though this facility has millions of gallons a day, they do their job and are compliant with local, state, and federal regulations. I had a fantastic time learning about these facilities and hope that we continue to find ways that help clean our environment for a better tomorrow.

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Sources
JEA Contact: Prentiss Garraway Phone: 904-665-8125 Email: garrpm@jea.com