Come for the sludge, stay for the STEM (and STEAM)

I was lucky enough to tag along on a trip to the Pima County Tres Rios Wastewater Reclamation Facility with Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers. The facility is on the SW corner of Ina Road and I-10, just north of the sports park.

First, everyone should know that there was almost no smell at all. None. I did notice large pipes labelled Foul Air around the facility.

Pipe leading to Daniel Company odor control scrubbers

Before getting our chance to look behind the curtain, WWTP Operator – Team Lead Adrian De La Ossa gave us a terrific overview of the whole process from bathroom pipes to clean water recharging our aquifer. He even prepared bottles of samples for us to hold and examine (all thoroughly sterilized!)–everything from water at various stages of the treatment process to sludge and the microbes that digest the solid waste.

From left to right: water as it entered the treatment facility; water after settling; water after many stages and ready for recharge into the aquifer; bottled water for comparison.

It was really a nifty tour. We saw ducks swimming in some of the tanks, and it was pointed out that ducks are pretty discriminating about water qualtiy –this water was close to the final stages of treatment.

The equipment is big– some of the tanks hold up to 1.5 million gallons of liquid. And giant Archimedes screws–I didn’t actually see the screws, but did get to see the building that houses them. I really enjoyed taking the photos–I like finding interesting ways to look at things (this was the STEAM component for me), and there was plenty of fascinating equipment and machinery to see!