City of Coos Bay release – Permit Exceedance at Plant 1 – Summary: The Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 located at 680 Ivy Avenue experienced a high Total Suspended Solids (TSS) count in the plant’s effluent which resulted in a permit violation. The exceedance was reported to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Emergency Response System. Detailed Report: The City was informed by their wastewater operations and maintenance contractor, Jacobs, that there was a Total Suspended Solids (TSS) permit violation at Plant 1 located at 680 Ivy Avenue. High TSS in a water body can often mean higher concentrations of bacteria, nutrients, pesticides, and metals in the water. The permit violation was caused because the contractor was adjusting the air distribution in the aeration basin. Air is what keeps the bugs alive – too much, and the bugs don’t settle well, not enough, and the bugs can die. In this case it was too little air. This resulted in less than adequate treatment and poor solids settling. Thus, the plant’s effluent experienced a high TSS. Often times, we want our operators to experiment so that they can find that “sweet spot” and maximize efficiency; but in this case, the results were unfavorable. The operators have reset the air to levels prior to the exceedance. The exceedance was reported to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Emergency Response System.
