Eric starts the 之旅 Biotowers 氯的坦克 Chlorinator Maze Reclaimed Water Pumps 河流流出 Birding at Sweetwater Wetlands

What's in the Water II?

Ever wonder what happens to all that stuff that goes down the drain? On October 11, 2003 , a group of Coati Kids and parents visited one of Tucson 's very own sewage treatment facilities. (的 Coati Club won the 之旅 as a prize in the Earth Day Parade last year.) Here is what they discovered!

埃里克·尼克松 the Pima County Wastewater Treatment Facility on West Roger Road took us on our 之旅. He told us that this facility treats water for 400,000 people in Tucson . Every time water flushes down a toilet, sink or shower, or rushes down a storm drain in the city, it comes here. 的 plant treats 40 million gallons of water 一天!

Sewage starts here, at the Primary Clarifier. It comes into big tanks. Heavier solids like paper and human waste drop to the bottom. 水从 top goes on to the Biotowers.

的 Biotowers are tall tanks full of 细菌. 的 water is sent to the tops of the Biotowers and slowly trickles down through the 细菌. 的 细菌 "eats" the impurities in the water. When the water reaches the bottom 6 小时 later, it 干净多了. It then goes on to a Secondary Clarifier.

In the Secondary Clarifier, more solids settle out. 的 solids from both clarifiers go to Digesters where more 细菌 break them down. 的 细菌 release methane gas. 治疗 plant uses this gas to generate its own power. 的 solids that remain are gathered and used as fertilizer on cotton fields.

的 water now smells earthy, like a stream 在树林里. 的 last step is to disinfect it. 治疗 plant uses strong chlorine bleach to do this. 的y use about one half of one of these large, blue chlorine tanks 一天. 的 water enters a disinfecting tank with many s-shaped 曲线. 的 chlorine is added at the upper part of the tank. 的 water travels slowly through the s-曲线. This lets the bleach mix in completely.

后一个 hour, the water leaves the chlorinating tank. 的 water is now disinfected, so the extra chlorine is removed. This makes the water safe to put back into the 环境. Some of the water is pumped back to the treatment facility to cool machinery and water lawns. 的 City takes some of it to water golf courses and 公园. We call this "reclaimed water." But most of it goes into the Santa 克鲁兹河 . 的re, the water creates habitat for trees, birds, aquatic insects, and many other animals. It also trickles down through the sand and gravel where it adds to our precious groundwater. From there it will be pumped up and used by people in Tucson all over again!

We were impressed. So much of what cleans the water is natural - 细菌 - and not all chemicals. We discovered how all that waste turns into riches - water for people, other animals, and plants. After our 之旅, we went to Sweetwater 湿地, 附近的公园. 的 park has lakes full of birds, turtles, and other wildlife. 的 lake water is reclaimed water from the nearby sewage treatment facility! What a great use of sewage, eh?