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Once things are flushed down the toilet does one ever ponder where it all goes? In order to find out, the members of the Model T Club toured the San Jose Sewage Treatment Plant On October 25th, 2008. In fact, this tour even attracted the outside attention of the Horseless Carriage Club and some of its members who decided to join us to find out. The weather Gods were shining down upon us that beautiful Saturday morning and we knew it was going to be a great day. Approximately 8 Model T's, two 1932 Chevy's, 3 Model A's and a couple of modern cars toured the beautiful back roads of South San Jose. Before the tour of the treatment plant, the group stopped off at Alviso Park for a short picnic lunch. Upon finishing lunch, we proceeded to the water treatment plant to get checked in for the tour.This is where the real fun began. The group was told to take seats in a somewhat crowded conference room within the administration building for a presentation of the plant. They then put before us a half-dozen jars of fluid that traced the actual evolution from raw sewage to 99 percent clean effluent, clear to the naked eye. It was absolutely amazing to see how many solids were able to be separated from the water which they like to call "sludge". After the presentation the group headed off to some air-conditioned buses that helped mask the faint odor of the sewage plant. Lucy played a great role as bus monitor ensuring only members of the club were on bus number one.Our first stop was the headworks which separates the grit and rags that cannot be treated. From there we continued down the path of the sewage to the primary treatment tanks, where the water is slowed to let the solids fall to the bottom which can create a blanket of about two to three feet. After this we continued to the secondary treatment, where the water is aerated and bacteria are encouraged to eat the remaining solids. One of the last stages were filters that make the effluent clean enough for recycling or release to the bay. The buses even pulled through a generator room where we marveled at the raw power of those massive engines which powered the plant. The tour commenced by bringing us over to the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, dedicated to preserving and enhancing wildlife habitat.In all we found this tour to be quite educational giving us a greater appreciation of what truly takes place after one flushes the toilet.Dan Gulko |
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