Sewer press isn't stamping out pretty pictures

Kellie Langdon Eagle Staff Writer

August 30, 2008 Last Updated: August 30, 2008 10:16 AM Community

A skid loader hauls sludge cakes which will eventually wind up in a landfill.

Most press operators work with ink, paper and plates. But the press operators at the Butler Area Sewer Authority don't publish what comes off their presses.

Dave Miller of Butler has worked for BASA since 1980. He came on as a laborer but soon became a press operator for the authority. Though he's worked at the plant for 28 years, the smell still affects him a little.

"I notice it Monday mornings when I come in," he said.

<table width="300" height="275" border="0" align="right" valign="top" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="/assets/mov/BE54217830.MOV" width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" ></embed></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/" target="_blank">Requires Quicktime Media Player </a> Video by Brandon Gerthoffer<td></tr></table>Before reaching a press, sewage comes into the plant through the sewer system and first goes through bar screens that filter out large non-sewage garbage. A mechanical arm scoops through the bars, and workers pull the objects off of the arm and put them into a bucket for disposal.When rain comes after a long dry spell, the sewers surge and many strange objects that have long been sitting in the sewers come to the bar screens. Workers have found turtles, carp, buckets and even a welfare card, said John Schon, BASA manager.Sewage then goes into large underground tanks where it is then treated with lime to stabilize and reduce the odor of the sludge, which is then pumped into dewatering presses where Miller begins his work.BASA must take out as much water as possible to reduce the weight of the waste for disposal, Schon said.The sludge is pumped from the lime stabilization tanks into the presses that have about 30 vertical plates on each rectangular press, similar to a waffle iron, that squeeze together for about 2½ hours to get all the water out of the sludge.The plates, which measure about 6 feet by 6 feet, squeeze and drain the water off, then are separated so sludge can be removed."You have to scrape it off," Miller said. The scraper is similar to a canoe oar.

The sludge cakes drop onto a lower floor where workers like Miller drive a skid steer to scoop them up and move them to a pile outside, which will then be loaded and taken to a landfill. The cakes are dry and break into small pieces.Miller said occasionally a seam will burst somewhere on the press, and that can be messy.Every few years, BASA workers have to clean out the lime stabilization tanks because lime cakes up and coats the tanks. To scrape walls, workers tie their ladders and tools to them so they don't fall into the sludge. One worker a few years ago didn't tie himself to the wall, lost his balance and fell in."He wasn't in there long," Schon said. "It was like walking on water. He was trying to get out of there so fast."

Dave Miller, a filter press operator for the Butler Area Sewer Authority, removes sludge with the use of a scraper that looks very much like a canoe oar.