Columbia Falls sewage treatment plant sees upgrades
Grady Jenkins points out a blob of grease in a sewer line captured by a remote camera.
The city of Columbia Falls is investing about $4 million into its sewage treatment plant, which will increase its capacity to treat nitrogen in the water.
Because the plant discharges directly in the Flathead River, it’s held to a high standard by the state on its nitrogen discharges, noted wastewater treatment plant manager Grady Jenkins.
Technically, the work is building a post anoxic zone addition to its bioreactor. The system works by taking nitrogen out of the water and releasing it into the atmosphere.
The work is being done by Prospect Construction out of Missoula. The bulk of the funding for the project came from a federal grant under the Biden Administration.
City crews also recently installed on their own a new grit recovery filter that takes sand and other dirt out of the sewage, where it can be disposed of at the county landfill separately.
The work is expected to be done by the end of September.
The plant treats about 420,000 gallons of sewage a day.
All told, it takes four people to operate the plant, which has to run 24/7. Including Jenkins, Dale Sandson, John Paliga and Drew Schlup operate the facility as well as deal with issues with lines and lift stations.
One of the biggest problems is grease being dumped into the sewer lines. They can track down problems by using a specialized video/stills camera that has wheels and a long cable that can run down a sewer line up to 1,000 feet away.
The camera can pinpoint problems areas. Grease is problematic because once it cools in the pipe (sewer pipes are typically about 8 feet underground) it congeals into a blob that can plug the pipe.
The camera can also pick up other nasty stuff as well, and they can pinpoint problems to individual homes and businesses if it’s a chronic issue. “Flushable wipes” for example, might go down the drain, but they end up clogging screens in the system.
Another problem is tree roots in lines. In addition to the camera, they can run a “roto rooter” that cuts through the roots, Jenkins noted.
All told the city has about 40 miles of sewer line and 10 lift stations to maintain in addition to the plant. The city also serves Meadow Lake Resort with sewer service under contract. The resort discharges about 31,000 gallons of sewage a day in the winter months and about 60,000 gallons a day in the summer months during tourist season.