1057 S 100 W
Hartford City, IN 47348

Phone: 765-348-3855
Fax: 765-348-7268
twilliamson@hartfordcity.net

Need to report a sewage issue?
CALL 765-347-8394

Travis Williamson

Superintendent

The Hartford City Water Resource Recovery Facility, located on the Southwest side of Hartford City, is a conventional activated sludge plant with advanced tertiary treatment that produces a high quality, environmentally friendly effluent. The treatment plant was original built in 1961 and was ran in coordination with the "Old Plant" that was located in the City. In 1978, the "Old Plant" was taken out of service due to age (original start-up date in 1938). This resulted in the current facility's first major upgrade. Additional primary and secondary clarifiers were added as well as additional aeration basins to handle the increased loading that would now be directed to this facility.  The facility also had Advanced Waste Treatment (AWT) Filter Cells installed to help create our high quality effluent.

In 1998, the facility underwent its second major renovation by upgrading its aeration tanks to fine air diffusers, remodeling and relocating our laboratory and administration building as well as adding a Belt Filter Press to handle biosolids production.

2016 saw the facility update the AWT Filter cells.  This included new Filter Feed Pumps, Filter Controls and switching from a multi-media filter material to a mono-media filter material.  This project was done in conjunction with the City’s CSO abatement program.  The use of mono media filters allows the Treatment Plant to takin in more flow during wet weather events, therefore reducing the impacts and durations of wet weather CSO events.

Below are a few important facts and figures concerning the operation and design of the plant:

** 2.2 MGD (million gallons per day) Design Flow

** 3.5 MG Peak Flow

** 1.3 MGD Average Daily Flow

** Approx. 2300 residential customers with a variety of commercial/industrial users

** High Rate of CBOD5, TSS and NH3N removal (typically 95% or higher)

** Competitive User Rates compared with local communities (Contact Utility Office for more information concerning rates)

** 4 sub-departments staffed by 7 full-time operators that all have a variety of certifications from CDL licensing to Class 3 Municipal certifications.

Laboratory

As was stated earlier, the laboratory was upgraded and relocated in the new administration building in 1998. The laboratory staff is responsible for sampling and performing the needed analysis required by the facility's NPDES permit. The lab monitors for CBOD5, TSS, NH3N, pH, Total Phosphorus and DO five days a week year round. Personnel also monitor and test chlorine residual and E. coli for MPN (most probable number) during disinfection season which runs from April 1st to October 31st.  Most of the facility's operational adjustments are made based on the results derived by the laboratory tests. The lab is equipped and staffed at a level so that they are able to do as much testing and analysis as possible in-house in order to keep user rates in check. The laboratory is also responsible for industrial monitoring and testing in order to ensure that our industrial users are in compliance with the standards set out in our sewer user’s ordinance. The lab staff also participates in an annual QA/QC study that is administered by IDEM and EPA to ensure that our lab equipment and procedures meet accuracy and precision standards as it applies to the self-monitoring requirements found in the facility’s NPDES permit.

Maintenance & Operations

This department is responsible for keeping the facility in top working order, as well as completing the day to day tasks and operational changes need based on laboratory results. The members of the maintenance department manage 2 lift stations located in the City in order to keep flows coming towards the facility for treatment. They are also responsible for maintaining 4 raw sewage pumps, 3 return sludge pumps, a number of aeration tank blowers, as well as primary and secondary tank maintenance and cleaning. Their work continues by operating the advanced waste treatment filters and chemical feed systems used for disinfection at a high level of efficiency. With an effective preventive maintenance program, skilled staff and access to modern tools and equipment, the maintenance and operations department has found that there are few jobs too big for them to handle. Like the lab, the maintenance crew does most of its work in-house, when possible, to maintain a healthy budget and lower rates for the customer.

Biosolids Handling

This department is responsible for the final treatment and disposal of the facility's sludge. The biosolids handling facility typically processes of 2.3 million gallons of 2% sludge annually. Through the use of an Ashbrook Belt Filter Press, the biosolids program dewaters the liquid sludge into a cake yielding up to 25% dry solids (which is a significant reduction in volume, which translates into increased savings at the time of disposal.)  At this time, all cake solids are disposed of via a regional landfill.

CSO Department

The City of Hartford City is a CSO Community (combined sewer system). Combined sewers allow for the joint transport of sewage and stormwater in the same pipe to the resource recovery facility for treatment. During periods of heavy rain, the combined sewers become surcharged and need a relief point. These permitted relief points, known as CSOs, are strategically located on local waterways. All of the CSO points are marked with orange signs. Unfortunately, when this happens, these CSO points discharge partially treated sewage to these waterways. Please understand that this type of system was accepted and approved technology when it was installed nearly 75 years ago. These discharges into local waterways are not a good thing, but they are better than the alternative- backing up into your home or business. The Water Resource Recovery Facility uses best management practices to minimize the effects of CSO events. Sewers are cleaned to maintain maximum volumes, the treatment plant maximizes incoming flows to capture the "1st Flush" (heavy levels of pollution) and lift stations are kept in top running order by the maintenance department. The City also has policies that new development projects are required to have separated storm and sanitary sewers. There have also been large City-wide sewer separation projects like the Commissioner's Ditch project that have greatly reduced the number and duration of CSO events that occur in Hartford City. Continued separation projects will occur once monies have been secured. The City has an IDEM and EPA-approved Long Term Control Plan to help deal with our CSO issue. The LTCP was part of a legally binding Agreed Order that the City entered into with IDEM and EPA to mitigate and reduce CSO events.  This plan includes 4 major construction phases.  Phase 1 and Phase 2 were completed in 2014 and 2018. Phase 3 and 4 are scheduled to be completed in 2022 and 2028. Should you wish to be notified of CSO occurrences, the CSO department has a system that allows for you to be notified of a CSO event. Contact the Water Resource Recovery Facility to have your name added to our list if you so desire. As a citizen of the community, you can help minimize the chance of CSO events by making sure your eaves troughs and crawl space/basement sump pumps are not connected to City sewers. Every gallon of storm water that can be kept out of the sewer is one gallon of discharge from a CSO point that does not have to be discharged to a stream or river. Thanks for your help on this issue.

Sewer Maintenance

This sub-department is responsible for maintaining more than 65 miles of underground sewers and other associated structures such as main holes and catch basins.  Members of the sewer maintenance staff are also tasked with installing sewer taps for new construction and relocating old sewer taps.  Additional duties include underground infrastructure locates associated with Indiana811 (holey moley) and installation of new sewers as needed.  The department has access to a variety of equipment such as a vacuum/jetter truck, sewer rodding machine and robotic camera equipment that allows the staff to efficient identify and clean problematic sewers.