Junction Chamber No.1

The beginning of the treatment of water begins with influent Wastewater. This comes directly from Sanitary Sewer pipelines throughout the City of Tampa service area.

Screen & Grit Building

Preliminary treatment at the treatment plant includes preparation of the sewage to remove hydrogen sulfide, air scrubbing for odor control, sewage screening, grit removal, and primary sedimentation.

The first stop is Junction Chamber # 1. At this facility, the water is aerated and the air emissions are treated to reduce the odor.

Next, the water goes through the Screen and Grit Building. The water passes through bar screens with 3/8" spacing to remove the solid material larger than the spaces between the bars. The velocity of the wastewater is reduced to one foot per second which allows the sand and other abrasive materials to settle out and be removed. This material wears equipment and structures in the plant.
 

Primary Sedimentation Tank

After Screen and Grit, the water flows to primary sedimentation. The primary sedimentation consists of eight tanks with a total volume of 5 million gallons and a 1.2 hour residence time. The solids in the bottom of the tanks, known as primary sludge is pumped to anaerobic digestion, which will be described later.