Bay View
Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements
Most of the work done over the first five years of the Toledo Waterways Initiative was at the Bay View Water Reclamation Plant. The improvements doubled the plant’s total capacity and since the Wet Weather Facility came online in October 2006, all flow that has reached the plant has been treated through the main plant or the wet weather facilities.
Historical plant information can be found on the City of Toledo’s Department of Water Reclamation webpage here.
To ensure that wastewater discharged into the Maumee River meets specific state and federal water quality standards, it must go through several cleaning processes. Here the plant’s final effluent is being discharged into the Maumee River. It is no longer wastewater. It is a clean stream of water full of oxygen able to support aquatic life and recreational activities.
Another step in the process is done here at the primary clarifiers. Polymer is added to the water to allow more solids to settle to the bottom and floatables to rise to the surface. Floatables are skimmed and sent to a landfill. Solids are pumped to digester tanks.
The Bay View Water Reclamation Plant Pump Station houses several components, such as bar screens, pumps capable of pumping 256 million gallons of wastewater a day and an emergency electric generator.
Wastewater is shown in the aeration tanks, one of the many cleaning processes at Bay View. Air and wastewater are mixed to promote growth of aerobic microorganisms that help to break down organic matter.
There are four computer stations at the Bay View Water Reclamation Plant that allow staff to monitor and control treatment processes. Computers also track the plant’s performance for documentation in monthly operating reports.
Toledo Waterways Initiative and other Recent Improvements include:
A Wet Weather Grit Facility that allows the plant to remove grit from flows that are sent directly to the new Wet Weather Facilities without going through the main plant’s grit facilities.
A Wet Weather Facility that provides High Rate Clarification to allow the plant to quickly treat combined storm and sanitary flows created by heavy rains. The facility at the time of construction was the largest high-rate clarification system for wet weather treatment in North America. The DensaDeg® is an external recirculating, high rate solids contact clarifier/thickener that uses chemicals (ferric chloride and polymer) to treat the wastewater flow over a wide variety of influent wastewater composition and flow rates. The advantage of using chemicals over conventional treatment is the ability to quickly react to changes in flow volume and concentration.
The new Wet Weather Facility at the Bay View Water Reclamation Plant was completed in 2006 and is now operational.
A 25 million gallon Equalization Basin that acts as a giant bath tub to temporarily hold raw or partially treated wastewater following heavy rains until the main plant can handle the additional flows. The water is then treated through the main plant before discharging into the Maumee River.
The EQ Basin was completed in 2007.
A new water tower at the plant was constructed in 2006. The tower and other improvements to the potable water system at the plant were needed to effectively operate the expanded facility. The 192-foot tower holds 300,000 gallons of water.
The Point Place Citizen Advisory Committee provided input on the design and look of the new facilities.