About Us

Operations & Maintenance

Currently, there are six (6) treatment Plant Operators and five (5) Maintenance Technicians. Both serve the purpose of operating, monitoring, and maintaining the wastewater treatment plant and the 22 liftstations throughout Valparaiso. New hires are required to maintain or have the ability to achieve operator certifications from the State of Indiana. Certifications show competency in maintaining and operating a treatment facility. There are four (4) different levels of certification depending on the size of the facility. Valparaiso's treatment plant is considered a major facility according to plant flow and requires a Class IV operator in responsible charge.

Just like Operations, Maintenance Technicians for wastewater treatment purposes is a very specialized area due to the different types of process equipment involved. Mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and some wastewater knowledge is necessary for efficient and successful performance by an employee.

The facility is a 24-hour 7-day a week operation. There is a plant operator on shift at all times and a maintenance technician on call during off shift hours. Utility management has continuous communication with all parties during off shift hours, especially during times of plant upset or mechanical breakdowns.

The Utility has also made major strides in cross training its employees. Cross training of Utility staff has allowed for a significant reduction in staff through attrition. Since 1998, the Utility has eliminated eight (8) positions, thus resulting in a cost savings to the City of Valparaiso. Individuals that have been cross-trained have the ability to perform almost all aspects of Utility operations.

Laboratory

The Wastewater Treatment Laboratory plays a vital role in supplying daily laboratory data to treatment plant operators. The optimization of the treatment plant depends on accurate and precise testing of the different stages of the treatment process. A vigorous quality control and quality assurance program allows the laboratory technicians to support their daily analytical testing with the utmost quality.

Testing includes, but is not limited to, Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Total Suspended Solids, Ammonia Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus, Dissolved Oxygen, pH, Alkalinity, volatile Acids, Percent Total, and Volatile Solids.

Industrial Pretreatment

The Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator is in charge of protecting the City of Valparaiso Sewer System and Wastewater Treatment Plant from discharges that could potentially cause adverse affects to Valparaiso's wastewater treatment process, which in turn could affect the quality of treated wastewater being discharged to Salt Creek. Permitting, surveillance monitoring, analytical reporting, letters of violation, education outreach, and frequent inspections of these industries are some of the management practices used to protect Valparaiso's treatment system.

Safety and Security

Safety and security within our Utility is a number one priority. The tragic events of September 11th made management more attentive to suggestions made by experts in protecting our employees, the environment, and the facility.

The current safety program performs in conjunction with other City Departments and through the guidance of the City Safety committee. Required safety training is performed by city Departments using internal videos, literature, and scheduled training by outside safety professionals.

In addition to the aforementioned safety procedures, the Utility is on the verge of initiating a Vulnerability Self Assessment Tool (VSAT), which provides a comprehensive, intuitive system for water and wastewater utilities seeking to analyze their vulnerability to intentional threats and natural disasters.

One of the first steps in initiating the vulnerability self assessment tool was the purchase of a digital recording camera system throughout the Utility. The digital system allows for real time video of vital process areas of the Utility, DSL internet logging capabilities by authorized personnel, and recording capabilities through the Utility file server. In the upcoming year, the Utility will address potential threats and countermeasures to assure protection to our staff and the environment.

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