Mystery at the lagoon

For the past several months, the wastewater treatment plant north of Saratoga has been dealing with something of a mystery.

The enigma was first raised by Director of Public Works Jon Winter during the January 5 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council and again during the January 13 meeting of the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB). According to Winter, the wastewater lagoon north of town had seen high levels of biochemical oxygen demand in the effluent of the lagoon since March 2020.

Biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD, is the amount of oxygen needed or demanded by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a water sample at a certain temperature over a certain period of time. The reduction of BOD is used to gauge the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants.

Additionally, effluent refers to liquid waste or sewage discharged from the lagoon.

At the January 5 town council meeting, Winter informed the governing body that there could be a few different scenarios contributing to the high levels of BOD including the levels of dissolved oxygen or a chemical influence on the bacteria (or bugs) in the lagoon.

As Winter discussed the high BOD levels in the effluent with Councilmember Jon Nelson, Nelson asked if there was a way for the Department of Public Works to go back through the sewer system to pinpoint a contributing factor.

During the January 13 meeting of the SCCIJPB, Winter informed the board about the discussion with Nelson and stated that going back through the system would only be useful when discussing chemical oxygen demand or COD. A test of COD can be used to determine the amount of organic material in water.

“BODs, as far as our influent, have pretty much stayed the same throughout this year and years past,” said Winter. “It’s something in the lagoons that the bugs aren’t processing the waste and it’s creating a higher BOD value.”

Winter listed a number of potential causes for the high BOD value, one of which could relate to the amount of bacteria in the lagoon. While there were still a number of factors being investigated, Winter stated that the high levels of BOD could be related to the onset of the novel coronarivus and the increased use of antibacterial cleaners in the system.

With that potential cause, Vice Chairman Craig Kopasz asked if Winter was aware of any other municipalities in Wyoming that were experiencing similar issues. Winter stated that he wasn’t but that, with Chuck McVey being on the Wyoming Rural Water Association board, other towns could be surveyed to gauge whether or not this was an issue isolated to Saratoga.

The high BOD levels, for the time being, remain a mystery.

The next meeting of the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board will be at 6 p.m. on February 10 at the Platte Valley Community Center.