6/7/11
Arcata is hoping to complete a major portion of its most significant expansion of its wastewater treatment system before the year is over.
The city finished grading work last year for the two new Arcata Marsh ponds -- located within the Arcata Corporation Yard property -- and plans to be done with the planting for the ponds before November.
Environmental director Mark Andre said the new marshes will add 40 percent more acres of treatment to the current configuration.
”This is the biggest expansion in 25 years,” he said.
Once completed, the expansion is expected to provide increased performance for water treatment as well as the flexibility to improve treatment capacity. According to wastewater superintendent Eric Lust, the ponds are generally about three acres or smaller and are within the original perimeter of the oxidation pond established in the 1950s.
Lust said the new ponds will allow the plant to take other areas offline if necessary and avoid potential violations if any emerging pollutants occur.
”We've been making do with three ponds for over 20 years, so this is a big deal for us,” he said.
Lust said visitors to the marsh can expect to see work beginning in July -- weather permitting.
”We have a narrow construction window because of the weather,” he said.
Once established, the new ponds will take two to three years to operate fully.
The project is part of work being done by environmental engineer Robert Gearheart and Humboldt State University master students to improve the overall efficiency of the plant. He and several students work out of a lab located at the plant.
Gearheart said the students -- who are engineering students currently, but can come from a variety of disciplines, including chemistry and biology -- conduct water quality analysis, gather data and are working on upgrading the plant's operational manual.
For the expansion project, a student helped with the design work and started a nursery for the wetland plants that need to be planted.
”It's been a very active learning experience for these students,” he said.
