Safety is focus during City wastewater plant tour

Iowa Rural Water and Association and Department of Natural Resources partner for training

Webster City's Waste Water department participated yesterday in safety training with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Iowa Rural Water Association (IRWA), and representatives from surrounding communities.

Webster City employees involved with the training were Plant Supervisor Nick Knowles, Chad Dingman, Logan Parker and Kiel Stupp. Attendees traveled from Stratford, Spencer, Des Moines, Mason City and Fort Dodge. Most of the participants were plant operators and others were with DNR, who coordinated the training. There were also a few people from Prestige of Eagle Grove. who attended the training.

The sessions included tours of the various aspects of the operation in Webster City. Around 20 people were involved with the process of reviewing potential safety risks, and discussed the situation. Involved in the training were a few staged hazard scenarios along the tour.

The tours took place just after an early morning rainfall had added a wetter component to the tour.

"I’m kind of glad the rain stopped so we could do the walk through, and look at potential risks of things that might not be safe.”

With the rainfall, one of the first challenges noted was the slick sidewalks around the facility. Wet railings and handrails added to the risks. No one can dry up the rain to make it more safe, but they talked through the issue.

"They wanted operators and DNR staff to be more safety aware," said Knowles. "Before you go into buildings we are to try to point out potential risk factors."

Wet floors, rugs and trip factors by having rugs were issues that might not have been noted before the rain event.

But that is why they were there. The training was focused on identifying potential safety risks at wastewater treatment facilities and taking proactive steps to address those risks before they lead to an accident or emergency.

"This was a group effort, we split up into four teams of 5 people," Knowles said. "They had five different stations to look at. Each group took pictures of things they thought could be a potential issue."

After the groups walked around the facility, they came together to discuss what they saw, viewed the photos of potential hazards and discussed safety concerns.

"It was eye opening because we have an older plant," he said. "They pointed out that some of the outside boxes had some rust and the risk that could cause. When you have an older plant, you are trying to get by until you get a new plant, you don't want to spend $300,000 on a repair when in a few years a new plant will replace it."

Most of those attending the training sessions were familiar with newer water treatment plants, he added.

"A lot of the people said they hadn’t seen a trickling filter, RBC plant before, so they were asking questions how it ran," said Knowles

The training also allowed the operators to learn from the experiences of other communities and it provided an opportunity for local wastewater personnel to share ideas and discuss practical ways to improve safety at their facilities.

"Some of the operators brought up their experiences of what had happened in their community," Knowles continued, "As an older plant, some of our RBC’s were down, but we were still in compliance. Some of our equipment that we can’t find replacement parts, we have still been able to keep running."

The work in wastewater treatment plants can present a variety of unique safety challenges, including working around equipment, chemicals, confined spaces, electrical systems, and other operational hazards. Recognizing these potential risks is important for keeping employees and the community safe.

Knowles kept that in mind when they set up the tour.

"The chlorine building was locked, and our wet well was off limits to keep people out of there," he explained. Otherwise they toured the whole plant.

The involvement of the DNR and IRWA, along with neighboring communities, allowed participants to learn from one another and strengthen their overall approach to wastewater safety.

The training emphasized the importance of being proactive about safety and continually looking for ways to identify and reduce potential hazards. By working together and sharing knowledge, communities can help create safer working environments while continuing to provide essential wastewater services to their residents.

The crews who manage the waste water and water treatment plants are not often acknowledged for the work they do. The members of the tour all had similar experiences and understood what the Webster City operators had to do to keep things running smoothly for the community.

These are the unsung heroes, those who work in the water treatment and waste water plants are fairly invisible to most residents.

"The only time they think about it is when they don’t have water, or their toilet doesn’t work," said Knowles.

But Knowles understands the importance of keeping the operation running as long as possible, and has figured out work-arounds when equipment parts are not available.

“We keep riding it," said Knowles, "If we can save money now, it will help us later when we get a new plant.”

The other plant operators seemed to understood how the Webster City team was working together to operate the plant.

Similar training was held in Osceola on Tuesday. If the rain had continued throughout the day, they would have been watching training videos together. But the physical tour allowed more interaction, more real-time experiences.

"Some of them commended us on what we were doing," he said. "And the Iowa DNR and Iowa Rural Water thanked us for hosting the event."