Flushing it Out
Illustration: Miles Parnell
It all adds up. Pill by pill. Hamburger by hamburger. Scoop by scoop.
We’re talking contaminants, like hormone-laden pills, grease, and phosphorous-containing laundry detergents — ingredients that often get flushed down the toilet or poured into drains.
Many of us who have chosen to call Utah home “think green.” We’re at least cognizant of doing what we can today to save the planet for tomorrow. However, learning how our local waste water is treated so that it can be safely returned to creeks and lakes can be a real eye-opener.
Michael Luers, general manager of the Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District (SBWRD) is overseeing an estimated $90 million expansion and upgrade of the two water reclamation facilities that treat waste water from homes and businesses in Park City and the Synderville Basin. According to Luers, the two facilities are nearing their capacity because of the community’s ongoing development and growth. Part of the plan is to upgrade the facilities to offer even better protection for our environment.
Taking a tour of the facility located at Jeremy Ranch is like a huge Rube Goldberg contraption spread out over several acres, buildings and holding tanks. Here you’ll see where the actual waste water enters the system and you can follow its journey through the operation to its treated and pristine release back into East Canyon Creek. Standing over the huge BioReactor that holds the screened waste water where trillions of living microorganisms consume organic waste matter and nutrients makes you very thankful for the engineering required to handle such a dirty job.
Now, about some of those contaminants. “Hormones in waste water are a big issue right now,” says Luers. That’s because natural hormones (those secreted by our bodies) as well as synthetic hormones (like birth control pills or other prescription hormone drugs that are flushed down the toilet) can’t be removed by most treatment plants. “They end up in the stream and in some places around the world … real low level compounds are having an effect on the downstream fish, and these hormones are basically changing male fish into females.” Whoa … that’s quite an effect! Luers says SBWRD is studying the fish below its treatment plant, and if there is such an effect, the new plant will remove those compounds.
Luers hopes residents will be careful about how they treat waste water so SBWRD’s equipment won’t have to work so hard to keep the environment as clean as possible. Some suggestions: Don’t put fats and grease down the drain, don’t flush anything other than toilet paper and what your body eliminates, and watch out for phosphorous (often found in cleaning products and fertilizers) — it increases growth of aquatic plants that upsets the balance of oxygen and harms the ecosystem. And if you get a chance, sign up for a tour of the SBWRD facility; you’ll have a whole new appreciation for what it takes to keep Park City and Summit County’s water clean. (Just keep a tight hold on your cell phone over that BioReactor!)
For a tour of the reclamation facilities, call 435.214.5231.
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