A report from a company hired by the city to study issues at Apopka’s troubled wastewater treatment plant off Cleveland Avenue states that the deficiencies cited by state regulators has “root causes founded in operations, maintenance, management, and administrative shortcomings” in the way the wastewater plant is managed.
Called a management assessment profile, Woodard & Curran’s 11-page draft report also stated that biochemical oxygen and nitrogen loadings have increased over the past several months. Anuvia, a new fertilizer manufacturer in Zellwood that uses biosolids to make the fertilizer, ships its wastewater byproduct to the city.
“It appears that the loadings from Anuvia are contributing to this increase,” the report stated. “That is the only known source capable of increasing a wastewater loading this significantly.”
In a statement he read at the City Council’s February 15 meeting, Mayor Joe Kilsheimer said the city considered shutting Anuvia off from the wastewater system, but decided not to because it would “significantly affect” the company’s business operations. “Because we believed no health issues existed, we made the responsible decision to examine the system through other procedures and avoid interrupting a customer’s business,” the mayor said in the statement.
The report stated that the amount of organic material in Anuvia’s wastewater was much too high and that the permit between the city and Anuvia needs to be reviewed and modified to much lower limits. In his statement on February 15, Mayor Kilsheimer said the permits are being renegotiated between the city and Anuvia.
As a result of the growing amount of biosolids in the wastewater plant, the city’s efforts to be in compliance with state regulations for issues such as total solids, nitrogen, and other items will be at continued risk, the report stated.
The Apopka Chief has the full story on page 1A in the Friday, February 24, edition.
