Students in our Rivervision Leadership Project made the connection from the faucet to the drain with all day Water Tours. First we toured the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District's Bissell Plant on the Mississippi River to learn how MSD handles the wastewater that moves through our city. Being on site gave students the opportunity to appreciate the sheer volume the plant handles each day. Another big 'wow' moment was learning of the over 300 pumps that MSD operates to keep portions of the city from flooding. Most of our trip to the Bissell Plant was dedicated to the treatment process on site with the end result being pumped back into the Mississippi River.
After a 20 minute bus ride and short lunch we arrived at Missouri American Water's Central Plant in Maryland Heights. Students got to step out on the massive intake structure over the Missouri river, the source for St. Louisans drinking water. Once in the tank basin, it didn't take students long to comment on the similar technologies used for both drinking water and wastewater treatment. Containing and moving large amounts of water necessitate many of the same kinds of infrastructure and mixing apparatuses. We are fortunate here in St. Louis to have a plentiful, relatively clean source for our drinking water, the mighty Missouri river.
Next week we are following up our Water Tours by delving deeper into infrastructure that lowers wastewater impacts/loads, particularly through combined sewers in our city. We will study permeable pavement, bioretention models large and small, and host Jay Hoskins from MSD as our featured speaker.
Happy Spring to all!
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