Sunrise primary lagoon

Breaking Ground on a Long Awaited Wastewater Lagoon Cleanup

After two years of preparation, permitting, and construction, the wastewater lagoon cleanup efforts have commenced at Sunrise!
The primary lagoon was initially lowered to the proper depth for sludge removal. Currently, pumps are being used to remove large amounts of sludge waste that slowly built up in this lagoon over the last 30 years. Excess rain this summer has added to the water level as dewatering continues. No harmful industrial waste or chemicals have been evident. The integral component of our wastewater operating system is our covered 72’ x 40’ drying-bed structure adjacent to our wastewater lagoons (completed in 2014). The paved drying-beds will hold sludge pumped from the lagoon until next spring. The constructed beds will dewater sludge by draining through the pavement, evaporation, and freezing (over winter: ‘Freeze-Thaw Cycle’). In the springtime as the frozen mass thaws, the dehydrated biosolids will be removed from the drying beds and repurposed by an organic fertilizer farm in New Hampshire.

As we move forward, the plan is to have excess sludge removed annually to continually improve our wastewater treatment process. Minimal odor has been associated with lagoon cleanup efforts. However, Sunrise does offer many thanks to staff aiding in this unpleasant, but very necessary project to care for our community environment.

Below are a few photos taken by the lagoons today!

Pumping at the primary lagoon (pm)

Pumping sludge into the dry-beds (pm)

Cells behind the primary lagoon (pm)

A herron atop the dry-bed structure (am)