Improper disposal leads to wastewater treatment issues

City Superintendent Mark Brown and Lennie Fisbeck, foreman of the city’s water department, were in for a surprise when they arrived at the wastewater treatment plant on County Road 41 on Friday morning, Jan. 21.

A telltale sheen on the water of one of the lagoons indicated the presence of what was likely diesel engine oil — something that will likely cause some smelly issues in the near future.

The oil got there because someone in town poured it down a drain or manhole — or even flushed it down a toilet.

The diesel engine oil causes significant problems at the wastewater treatment plant. It kills some of the microscopic organisms that break down the organic waste in the water. Additionally, at this time of year, those organisms stay deeper in the water due to the colder temperatures, so the process is slowed down anyway.

With the process being less efficient due to the combination of colder temperatures and the oil killing some of the microscopic organisms, Fisbeck said residents should expect a sewage odor from the wastewater treatment plant for a couple of weeks, depending on barometric pressure and temperature.

Brown said killing off the bacteria in the pond could potentially put the city out of compliance on water quality. He went on to say that this issue could cost residents a lot of money if the city has to change the wastewater treatment process.

“We’re a community. We all work together for the same thing,” Brown said, adding that people need to consider their neighbors and others in the community.

He said to think of the community as a co-op, and since utility rates are based on cost of service, if everyone in the community bands together to do the right thing when it comes to this issue, then everyone saves. Continued issues could potentially lead to the raising of sewage rates.

This is just the latest instance of incorrect disposal of materials that has caused headaches for the city.

Wet wipes — often marketed as “flushable” on their packaging although they should not be flushed — have clogged the wastewater screening basket at the lift station at the wastewater treatment plant.

They have also plugged the aerators at the lagoons, and it’s the aeration process that oxygenates the water, allowing the microscopic organisms in the water to break down the organic waste. When the aerators aren’t working because of a clog, the water is less oxygenated, making the breakdown of organic waste less efficient.

Last March, Brown told Holyoke City Council members that the problem with flushable wet wipes was so bad that city workers were filling 5-gallon buckets with the wipes they found in the sewer lines.

In 2018, a letter was sent to every household on the municipal sewer system to educate the public on what should and should not be flushed.

Other efforts in the past included placing notices in the Enterprise, on the radio and on Facebook to urge residents to stop flushing flushable wipes and other problematic items.

The problem was so bad last August that city personnel had to unplug the lagoon aerators on a daily basis for at least the first two weeks of that month.

And flushable wipes — and most recently, diesel engine oil — are not the only things that have caused problems at the wastewater treatment plant. Tin cans, washcloths, small towels and even razor blades have been found in the screening basket.

Fisbeck said it was fortunate that the wind forced the oil to gather at one edge of the lagoon, allowing him access to skim some of the oil from the water’s surface.

Brown added that people should contact the city or the county if they have automotive oils they’d like to get rid of. He noted that this is a serious issue, and if anyone sees people pouring automotive oil down manholes or drains, they should contact the city or the police department.