The Laboratory has two equally important responsibilities. First, the Laboratory must prove to State and Federal agencies that the clean water discharged into the Little Conewago Creek and the biosolids that become agricultural soil amendments meet or exceed all regulatory levels. The testing includes intensive quality control and internal monitoring. We must be able to prove that the “numbers” are honest and trustworthy. The second responsibility of the Laboratory is to monitor the treatment process and give information to the operators. This enables them to effectively and efficiently control the process.
The Laboratory is accredited by the State and must conform to Chapter 252 regulations. Chapter 252 (Environmental Laboratory Accreditation) was established in 2006 “to protect the public health, safety, welfare and the environment by ensuring the accuracy, precision, and reliability of data generated by environmental laboratories” (Section 252.2). The Laboratory is also involved with troubleshooting the processes, researching and /or improving methodologies, and assist in the data management system.
Here is a list of some analyses performed:
Permit Required
- pH
- Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (cBOD)
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
- Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
- Total Phosphorus
- Ammonia Nitrogen
- Fecal Coliform
- Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
- Nitrate + Nitrite Nitrogen
- Nitrite Nitrogen
- Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
- Total Nitrogen
Process Control/BNR
- Conductivity
- Total Solids (TS)
- Total Volatile Solids (TVS)
- Microscan
- Specific Oxygen Uptake Rate (SOUR)
- Mixed Liquor Susp. Solids (MLSS)
- Settleable Solids
- Alkalinity
- Total Hardness
Distillation and Digestion Equipment for Ammonia Nitrogen and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen analyses
Open House Demonstrations and/or Experiments:
Wastewater Treatment Facility – Display of Raw, Mixed Liquor, Final and Biosolids
- Headworks (IPS) – Ammonia Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus Demonstration
- Headworks (IPS) – pH Strip Experiment
- Splitter Box/OX. Ditch – Mixed Liquor Formation Demonstration
- Oxidation Ditch – Hungry Bugs Experiment
- Oxidation Ditch – Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) Demonstration
- Dewatering – Belt Press Demonstration
- Disinfection – UV Demonstration
- Outfall/Discharge – Ammonia Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus Demonstration
- Treatment Facility Recap
Collection System and Home
- Fats, Oils and Greases (FOG) Visual
- Solidified Oils and Greases Experiment
- Gas and Explosion Experiments
Laboratory Pictures
cBOD and BOD Analysis area
Total Suspended Solids and Fecal Coliform Analysis area
Nutrient Analysis area with our SEAL Analyzer
Microscan area
Microorganism Pictures:
Rotifer – Epiphanes
Flagellate – Chlamydomonas
Stalked Ciliate – Vorticella
Nematode
Crawling Ciliate – Aspidisca
Tardigrad – Waterbear
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