Celebrate 25 Years of the Pollution Prevention Act!!

This year is exciting since we are celebrating 25 years of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Pollution was such a problem that the Environmental Protection Agency created the Pollution Prevention Act to have pollution prevented or reduced at the source whenever possible. Read about P2 at EPA's website. 

Pollution Prevention reduces Financial costs (waste management and cleanup) and Environmental costs (health problems, damages). Pollution Prevention not only protects our environment, but also strengthens our community.

September 21 through 27 is Pollution Prevention week!

Here are some Pollution Prevention practices:

• Use reusable water bottles instead of throw-aways
• Turning off lights when not in use
• Repairing leaky faucets and hoses
• Using non-toxic or "green" cleaners
• Properly dispose of household hazardous waste (old electronics, paint, etc. SHOULD go to WLSSD)
• Help clean up litter - any litter on the streets or yard will eventually find its way into a nearby stream
• Sweep up yard waste - excess grass clippings are pollutants! 
• Report any illicit discharge/dumping in the City of Superior: http://www.ci.superior.wi.us/illicitdischarge

You can . . .

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The Time is Now!!

Summer is in full swing! The grass is growing, and the trees are full of green. That leads to the problem with yard waste.

The Solution: Compost!! 

Compost is a nutrient-rich soil amendment, created by the natural decomposition of kitchen and yard waste. It is the best and easiest method for getting rid of yard waste as yard waste is BANNED from the landfill.

Compost also reduces water pollution. Organic wastes, such as grass clippings and leaves, contribute to non-point source pollution (that's pollution that enters the waters in diffuse sources, such as runoff from streets). When yard waste decomposes in the water excess nutrients are released and oxygen is depleted. . . making a horrible environment for aquatic life.

Composting is Good!!

Here is the basic formula for making compost:

One of the important things to remember about home composting is that you want to make the critters that do the all work happy. Summer can dry up a compost pile, so it is important to make sure there is moisture in your pile (as wet as a wrung-out sponge). 

Visit our "Composting" tab for more examples of compost ingredients.

Ban the Bead!

On May 22, 2015, the California Assembly passed the world's strongest legislation to ban microbeads. The state would ban not only synthetic particles but the biodegradable plastic as well. Other states - Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, and Maine - have passed similar laws banning microbeads, but leave loopholes for biodegradable plastics.  

Plastic Microbeads 101:
What are Microbeads?: Microbeads are nasty little bits of plastic smaller than 2 millimeters. They are used frequently in personal care products (toothpaste, soaps, cosmetics, etc.) as exfoliates or for added texture.

Examples of amount of plastic in products

Why should I care?: There is no proven benefit of plastic microbeads in personal care products. There are natural exfoliants (that work better), but plastic microbeads are cheaper for manufacturers. Unlike natural alternatives, plastic microbeads ARE NOT biodegradable and are harmful to the environment.
How are they harmful?: Microbeads are literally microns in size and are NOT removed in our wastewater treatment process. Once in the water, microbeads, like other plastics, can absorb persistent toxic chemicals commonly found in waters across the state and can be mistaken for food by small fish and wildlife.  
What can I do?: Avoid products with these ingredients: polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate or polymethyl methacrylate.
The good news: Several companies - Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, The Body Shop, and L’Oreal – have all made commitments to phase out the use of microbeads in their products. Many states are working on legislation to ban plastic microbeads. Yay!

The Story of Sewage in Superior

Go to the Environmental Services Division page

www.ci.superior.wi.us/esd

and click on the History tab to open a page that has a slide show (pdf file) on sewage treatment in the early days of Superior, including when there was over 40,000 people living in town.  In the beginning there was none - no treatment.  Raw sewage regularly went out to local rivers and to Lake Superior.  It wasn't until 1958 that this facility opened.  Improvements in cleaning the wastewater have been added over the years.   The wastewater treatment plant is one big part to help keep local waters clean and healthy for aquatic organisms and for us! 

It was interesting to see the controversy in place and how many people felt a treatment plant wasn't necessary.  

May 19 (Tuesday) program on Water Treatment in Superior (Waste and Drinking Water)

We hope you will attend a program planned for Tuesday, May 19 at 5 p.m. at the Superior Public Library.

Event:   A Closer Look at Water Treatment in Superior, WI
How is it done in Superior?  Drinking Water Treatment and Wastewater Treatment

 We use water everyday.  Water arrives to our homes, schools, and businesses and wastewater will leave from these places.  Attend the approximately one hour program where Superior Water Light & Power will present a closer look at drinking water treatment in Superior and Superior Environmental Services will present about what is done with wastewater to treat it before discharging it back into Superior Bay.   You will also learn about improvements  over the years for better treatment and develop a better understanding on infrastructure in place to have the treatment possible. Finally, you will also take home simple tips on how you can be a part of helping prevent pollution in Lake Superior and conserve water. It would not be a good thing to not have these important services running properly in Superior yet for many decades the services didn’t exist for the early people settling in Superior.   Human health and environmental health are in part connected to proper drinking water treatment and wastewater treatment.  

Any questions?  Call (715)394-0392 or email grethenw@ci.superior.wi.us City of Superior Environmental Services.

 

Have you been to www.superiorstormwater.blogspot.com lately? 

 

Visit our Facebook page or Twitter.  SuperiorESDPW

 

Sludge

What do you think sludge looks like?  The wastewater treatment involves multiple steps to take out materials, including total suspended solids, from the water that will be released into Lake Superior.  It's a Friday and a good day for photos. 

Here are a few:

Here are 4 samples : Influent - what comes into the plant - it's mostly water.
Primary effluent - after treatment through the primary clarifiers
Aeration Basin sample - this is using the activated sludge with lots of organisms
Effluent - is what is released into Lake Superior

 

 

Which sample do you think has the highest TSS (total suspended solids)? 

The correct answer is the Aeration Basin sample.  It would likely have one about 2000 mg/L.  The other values could be about 250 for the influent (note: that sample is looking a bit darker than usual.  It wasn't collected that day), 100 mg/L in the primary effluent and the effluent would be about 10 mg/L.

 

 

 

Here is a view of the Belt Filter Press. The sludge cake are the solids that were concentrated and then removed.  These are what the organisms didn't consume but the organisms do help to greatly reduce the organic materials.   The sludge cake doesn't smell.  It is not of good enough quality to be used on farm fields.  It is trucked the landfill.  Trucks also leave here carrying debris trapped at the screen building and the through the grit chamber. 

 

 

 

Here are our new Huber Step Screens that were installed this winter. They are shiny and new and do the incredible work of removing materials down to 1/8".  Our previous screens only removed down to 1/4".  We are happy to report they are doing well. 

 

 

Here is an inside look.

With looking closely you can see a goldfish and a bandaid among the debris. 

 

 

Speaking of goldfish.  We do have a goldfish here that we've put in effluent and she is doing fine.  She likes to visit with the students when they come.  Her name is

Sue R. Plant.

 

Remember, the effluent is not drinkable but it's safe for swimming and safe for fish and aquatic organisms.

 

 

 

Wastewater Treatment Tours for Superior students in 5th grade start this week

The warmer weather is here and we're eagerly awaiting Superior's 5th graders to come tour the Wastewater Treatment Plant.   We are glad that Four Corners, Cathedral, Lake Superior, Great Lakes, Cooper and Bryant Schools will be coming over the next few weeks.  The tours will last 2 hours and include and indoor portion where the students will act out wastewater treatment and participate in interactive quizzes about the treatment process and the importance of knowing what not to flush and that stormwater, in most cases in Superior, does NOT come here for treatment but rather flows out to local streams untreated.  The outdoor portion is walking through the steps just as the water would flow arriving here, getting cleaned, and then released out to the Superior bay.
The City of Superior pays for the buses to transport the students to the plant.  We are thankful for the teachers who make time in their busy class schedules to have the students come here to learn more about this process.
As the almost 300 students come through and see the wastewater treatment process they will also learn how to help educate others about what not to flush which will help in preventing pollution to the bay and Lake Superior.  The sights (we have a nice location right on the bay) and smells (really not too bad!) are part of getting to know this important process that is at work 24 hours a day.  A team of over 40 people work here : a mix of engineers, operators, collections crew, administration, educators, and other specialists. 


Can you put the following steps in order? 

If you have a small group of people from your organization, church, workplaces or even neighbors that would like to take a tour, give us a call 715/394-0392. 

Scoop the Poop Event Next Week!!!

Get a jump start on Scoop the Poop Week (April 24 - 30)!!!
Come in and make LAWN SIGNS and/or BUTTONS to promote picking up pet waste!
It's a FREE EVENT!! (RSVP at 715-394-0392 or superiorstormwater@gmail.com to ensure we'll have enough materials)
Support Scoop the Poop!! 

When: Tuesday April 21, 2015
            5-7 PM
Where: 51 E 1st St (ESD offices/Wastewater Treatment Plant - across E 2nd & railroad tracks from Golden Inn/Animal Hospital)

Copper-free brake pads

Copper-Free Brake Initiative

On January 21, 2015, EPA, states and the automotive industry signed an agreement to reduce the use of copper and other materials in motor vehicle brake pads. The agreement calls for reducing copper in brake pads to less than 5 percent by weight in 2021 and 0.5 percent by 2025.
In addition to copper, this voluntary initiative reduces mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers, and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads.
The Initiative will decrease runoff of these materials from roads into the nation’s streams, rivers and lakes. Copper from stormwater runoff can affect fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants.
This initiative includes:

• Education and outreach to bring about the nationwide reduction in brake pads of copper and the other materials.
• Testing friction materials and constituents for alternatives.
• Marking and labeling friction material packaging and product.
• Providing reporting registrars’ and agents’ contact information to manufacturers, suppliers and other industry entities.
• Working towards achieving the goals in the Copper-Free Brake Initiative within specified timeframes.

Numbers on copper reductions:
California and Washington already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads. Prior to these requirements, fine dust from vehicular braking released an estimated 1.3 million pounds of copper into California’s environment in 2010 and about 250,000 pounds into Washington’s environment in 2011. Estimates for California show as much as a 61-percent reduction of copper in urban runoff due to changes in brake pad composition.
Co-signers:
In addition to EPA, the Environmental Council of the States and eight industry groups signed the initiative: Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association; Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association; Brake Manufacturers Council; Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association; Auto Care Association; Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers; Association of Global Automakers, Inc.; and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association.

The above information is from
http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/npdes/stormwater/copperfreebrakes.cfm

Science Night at UWS is coming up April 10

There will be over 50 booths at this event.  Stop by.  Learning. Prizes. Fun.