The Valley Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility set a new standard as part of a $14,000,000 (1976 dollars) facility owned by Jefferson County, Alabama. The plant provided primary and secondary treatment with fine-bubble aeration.
Tom’s role was as the on-site Office Engineer for the general contractor, Blount Brothers Construction, Inc. He joined the site team early in the civil phase and stayed on the job until after start up of all systems and the final inspection.The project was built for Jefferson County, Alabama with a federal grant and funding from state and county.
Methane gas from the anaerobic digesters was stored and used to supplement natural gas to power three of the nine air blowers for the primary and secondary aeration facilities. Waste sludge from the primary and secondary nitrification clarifiers was sent to six anaerobic digesters. Four existing anaerobic digesters were emptied and refitted with gas recirculation pumps and diffusers. Two new 90-foot diameter digesters were also built with gas recirculation.
Excess methane gas was pumped into the large spherical tank on the upper right side of the aerial image. The methane gas was stored and blended with natural gas to power three 12-cyclinder engines in the Adminstration/Blower/Lab Building–seen in the center-left side of the aerial photo.