Valparaiso City Utilities - Water Reclamation TREATMENT PROCESS

Treatment Process

The Elden Kuehl Pollution Control Facility is a class IV, advanced, activated sludge wastewater treatment facility. What makes it advanced? The treatment process!!

First the plant screens large debris such as bottles, cans and cloth material using evenly spaced bars to trap the material. Grit, sand, and gravel are removed next by using gravity to settle out this heavy material.

Primary treatment then moves large organic matter using he same workhorse, gravity. Bacteria or Activated Sludge step in next to consume the dissolved organic material and ammonia. Phosphorous is also removed at this point by beneficially recycling pickle liquor from the local steel mills.

The advanced step which follows simply removes any remaining solids from the wastewater by passing it through a filter made of fine coal and sand.

The wastewater is then made safe for fishing and swimming for both people and fish. This is through chlorination, dechlorination and finally re-aeration. And why is this so important? It's good for the environment and the Salt Creek ecosystem.

Would you like to learn more about this process? Then click on any of the items below....