what goes on in this 6 acre water sewage plant?

Question

This water sewer plant is about 1/4 mile from vacant rural lot I own. With no particular weekly pattern I occasional hear what sounds like a large generator or pump faintly in the distance.
From this image, can somebody explain what they might be doing there? Does it appear that any waste or sludge is being reintroduced back into soil in those two dry ponds?
I have not tested the water yet, planning to , but how safe for contact with human skin (not drinking) can I expect a shallow well to be a 1/4 mile away from this plant?
It's in central Florida, please do not ask me for detail on the location.

update: here's another picture:

jko · Accepted Answer

Looks like a wastewater treatment plant, there are a few different ways water can be treated. If you're not in a large metro area the plant doesn't need to be too large. Water comes into one pool, gets treated, pumped to the next, treated again, and so on until the water is clean enough to be introduced to local waterways. There is also solid organic matter that doesn't completely break down quickly, so it's removed from the ponds and usually dumped close by (like the brown mounds with tire tracks in your pic).
There should be no issue with the groundwater. The wastewater plant in my town is next to a large river that people swim in. Besides the smell, there is no issue. Water treatment plants are heavily regulated so you should be fine, although all bets are off with Florida.

mart · Answer

This is a bit speculative on my part, But I think what's going on here is this:
Hard to see from the pictures.
The concrete tructure on the right, It could be some mechanical treatment or mechanical tgreatment plus aeration (I'm not sure if I see bubbles in the upper left basin)
The patch of ground on the left:

At first I thought constructed wetlands, but then there should be more greenery and less tire tracks.
You write the circles are about 3m below ground, I'd assume the patches are either attenuation ponds who happen to be always dry (though I don't see any overflow structure to empty the ponds).
The next option would be groundwater infiltration, infiltration ditches for stormwater I've seen looked like approximately so.

It may be that your hear noises when the level in a pump sump reaches a certain point and a pump activates. Constructed wetlands are doused with wastewater intermittently for process reasons (the distribution hose can be buried).
You could check the following:

If wastewater treatment, is it domestic wastewater or something else? Fi
Is there an ope body of water nearby into which the WWTP discharges, or could discharge via a buried pipeline?
Are there any official and up -to-date statements about groundwater quality in your area availible - this could give you an indication without paying for the analysis yourself
Is your well upstream or downstream of the plant? (Often groundwater follows the surface morphology - but that is far from assured)

what goes on in this 6 acre water sewage plant?

2 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question