Election Week 2022 was exciting for Kansas City! During this time, a milestone was reached with the arrival of the Thermal Hydrolysis Process (THP) equipment from Cambi. Whether you were focused on what was on the ballot or the pallet, the week was one to remember.
Trucks carrying the long-awaited THP system began arriving at the end of October, and equipment was installed throughout November. The new equipment is the first at the Blue River Wastewater Treatment plant since the 1960’s.
Simultaneously, construction and concrete pouring for the 26-foot-tall wet well structure started at another area of the biosolids facility site. The process was a tedious one. Workers placed the forms, poured concrete, and tested the stability and efficiency of the structure.
Crews filled one, four-foot segment at a time with concrete, and waited 45 minutes for each segment to set before starting on the next one. Throughout the process, workers also continually tightened the forms and vibrated the concrete to prevent air pockets from forming.
The wet well will store sludge until it reaches a certain level and then pump it out to solids processing. The sludge wet well serves double-duty, because it also is a wall of the new biosolids building.
Sludge wet well by the numbers
- 120 yards of concrete
- 26-foot-tall structure
- 95 linear feet around
- Walls are 16 inches deep
- Holds 340,000 gallons of raw sludge
