On Monday, April 1st, 2019, STEAM families had an opportunity to visit the Warrenton Wastewater Treatment Plant for a tour of the facility.
It was unseasonably cold and windy, so the predominantly outdoor tour was brisk, however, according to our tour guide, the cold weather decreases some of the less pleasant smells that are sometimes detected at the plant.
Originally built in 1958 with major upgrades in 1978 and 1990, the plant has since added an ultra-violet disinfection system and nutrient removal upgrades costing close to 8 million dollars!
Our tour guide walked us through all of the equipment the water passes through from the time it enters the facility to when it leaves the facility, and explained the purpose of each. We could actually see where the water runs into a nearby stream right after the ultra-violet disinfection.
Finally we went inside and got to peek at the lab where our guide described some of the tests they do on the water to make sure the equipment is performing properly, and talked about some of the jobs his coworkers have.
Looking for more resources on this topic?
My kids and I listened to a fun podcast the week before the trip to learn a bit more about the topic. If you are sensitive to potty talk or want to discourage it with your kids, I’d skip this one. Otherwise, they will probably love it like my kids did!
Brains On! : Flush! Where does our poo and pee go?
My husband forwarded me this article after our trip. It looks at the asset side of wastewater. Who knew?
Wastewater is an asset, with nutrients, energy and precious metals — and scientists are learning how to recover themh
If you are interested in the treatment process for the clean water coming into your house, this video from New Jersey is a good starting place.
Water and You: The Water Treatment Process
Leave a reply at the end of this post if you have found a good resource you’d like to share for learning more about water treatment or the water cycle.
STEAM Homeschool Co-Op 