The Safe Way to Operate a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Why less maintenance is the safer option 

When things that shouldn’t get into sewers get into sewers, the pumps get jammed up and clogged.  Pumps intended to manage what is likely to find their way into sewers may not be able to handle the rest.  

What are we talking about here?  How about bed linens, clothing, aluminum cans, cleaning materials, and other solids?  Tennis shoes?  Yep, those too.  In this new world where everything seems to be disposable, the sewers are seeing their share of non-disposable items, and they clog the pumps.

When the pumps clog, they need to be serviced, requiring manpower.  And that’s where things get dicey.  

Keen Pump in Ashland Ohio creates a grinder pump alternative called “The Pulverizer”.  Learn more about it here.  It will turn items that shouldn’t be in the sewers into a slurry that is far less likely to clog the pump. And that’s good because the alternative is dangerous.

Check out this video to see the Pulverizer Demonstration!

https://youtu.be/GLjP3ZBscSk

Here are some dangers that can be mitigated by fewer man-hours spent servicing clogged sewer pumps in your facility.

Chemical Hazards: Wastewater treatment involves the handling and treatment of various chemicals, such as disinfectants, coagulants, and acids. Improper handling, storage, or accidental spills of these chemicals can lead to health hazards for workers, as well as environmental contamination.

Biological Hazards: Wastewater contains a variety of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Exposure to these microorganisms can pose serious health risks to workers.

Toxic Substances: Heavy metals, pesticides, and industrial pollutants can be detected in wastewater.

Fire and Explosion Risks: Wastewater treatment facilities are operated under high pressure or involve flammable gases, such as methane. Equipment failure and the maintenance it takes to fix it can increase the risk of fire or explosions.

In addition to the human risk aspect, clogged pumps that can require maintenance can lead to other risks, such as air quality issues for the surrounding communities, infrastructure failures causing leaks or system malfunction, potential financial losses, environmental impact, and the potential for compliance and legal risks if not mitigated.  

For these reasons and others, it’s important to run a system that requires less maintenance and manpower.  Consider having your system equipped with pumps like the Pulverizer available from Keen Pump in Ashland to help ensure that pumps stay free and clear to do the job they are meant to do.