Yesterday (02/12/23) Dan Miller gave Robert King and myself an hour-long tour of the Franklin Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant on Baxter Road. Dan has worked there several years and it's a tour I've wanted to make almost since the beginning. I'm intrigued by the process of the path taken by what seems an innocent toilet flush.
Owned and operated by Veolia, the city of Franklin's website says, "The Plant provides services for Franklin, Carlisle, Germantown, Franklin Township, Warren County and Montgomery County. Just recently the Hunter area has started discharging to the Plant."
As many times as I've driven by it, the plant lies far enough off SR 73 that's it's barely visible tucked in beside the Great Miami River. But a wide satellite view shows its location:
And a closer view shows the layout:
I asked Dan about the many Canada Geese at the facility. Did they actually get into the wet muck? Indeed they do, he said. And also this area where the top layer seems dried but Dan said it's more like quicksand. The geese can traverse it easily and seems not to be bothered by the smell.
Speaking of the smell, it is minimal and that's quite surprising to me.
It was a beautiful day for a tour of this sort ... a cool 46° and calm. Probably the heat of summer would aggravate the situation considerably.
The size of the pipes and pumps is amazing to see. Think of what goes into it the next time you flush your toilet.
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