Y5 go to the Sewage Farm in Cannock

Pupils being briefed at the local sewage works.

When Mrs Flint asked me to drive the school minibus for a Y5 trip. I immediately agreed.

When I asked where we were going (thinking it would be to Dovedale or some scenic part of the U.K.) Cannock Sewage farm didn't hit a resounding "Yes"! But the ever clever Mrs Flint knew that already putting questions to her Headteacher in that order!

It was a fascinating trip using the School minibus to shuttle the Y5 Classes to and from the Severn Trent sewage site

Pupils learned that 70% of the Earth's surface is made up of water.

A mere 1% is fresh water as the other 69% is salt water.

The polar Ice caps are included in the 1%

Refreshments were provided for the morning Y5 group

Mrs Flint's class being briefed on the site visit

And again

And then to the smelly bit!

This is raw sewage from domestic households and Industry entering the plant. Bathroom and kitchen refuse , chemical and fat all enter the works at this point- all of which we be recycled!

The Severn Trent Waterworks Company have a contingency plan should there be a lot of rain.

The volume of water, when there is a lot of rain, could overwhelm their resources. They have underground culverts and three huge reservoirs to use as a holding mechanism. Otherwise untreated sewage would get into rivers which are our major source of tap water.

Notice the "Archimedes Screws" to the left and right of the picture which sift out rubbish in rainy conditions when the Company have to divert water to the "holding tanks" when it rains hard

This is one of three emergency storage tanks in the event of heavy rain overwhelming the plant.

The tanks hold the sewage and storm water and when the weather quietens down , the sewage and rain water is released back into the re-cycling process.

The sewage goes into this plant.

There are all sorts of objects flushed down toilets. These are shredded by a complex mass of machinery inside this building which was too dangerous for Y5 to go inside.

What comes out at the other end is solid waste made into something like paper mache which is burned. The ash , after the burning, is recycled and turned into breeze blocks to build houses!

The chocolate coloured waste continues its journey

Imagine a thunderstorm! Grit from the roads gets washed into drains and ends up at a sewage plant.

They have automatic machines which are triggered into action when the grit becomes heavy

The machines put them into skips.

In the skip also was sweet corn, which the human body doesn't digest well as sweet corn has a tough outer skin ! If you don't chew corn of the cob well, it ends up here!

The grit is recycled.

The Severn Trent Minworth plant recycled the grit which is now the tarmac on the M6 Toll Road!

The sludge continues its journey

It's a process of sifting out solids from water. This tank starts the process

Another such tank
The mind boggles at the need for life jackets!

Holding bay for sewage

First realistic separation of chemicals from water.

Every fish and chip shop flushes fat down the drain. Many companies flush chemicals down the drain. We all use fat, washing powders etc which go into our house drains. That needs sorting!

This is a mass of chemicals and fat that needs to be dealt with

These pumps help

But this is the key!

Healthy bacteria in these ponds set to work on the bad bacteria fueled by oxygen being blown into the ponds.

The healthy bacteria only have a 46 hour life span but reproduce and the process goes on.

The plant need to introduce food into the chain , a couple of buckets of raw sewage, to keep the process going

And the sludge, ends up here.
The final tank.

The chemicals and anything they can't deal with ends up in the middle to be put back through the entire system.

Look at the clarity of the water
about to be fed back to Rivers
in the blue area

This is 70% water clarity. No you can't drink it, but it will Oxygenate local rivers and improve fish stocks in rivers. It is more healthy to paddle in than a local river, despite where it has come from!

What happens to the lumpy bits of poo etc!?

They end up here and are sent to a treatment works which has a lid on and fermented at body temperature 38 degrees.

Methane comes off as a gas used to power electricity to fuel the Sewage Works and the National electricity grid

The poo bits are tumble dried , lime added to kill the bacteria and used as fertilizer. Everything is recycled!

I was dreading the smell but had my eyes opened!

Many thanks to all the staff and parents involved especially Mrs Puntell who used her car to get the afternoon group back on time.

Martin Tibbetts
08/02/2005
PS
The afternoon Group