Ever wondered where the water you see trickle down the drain or flushed down the toilet goes? Thirteen St. Paul Academy and Summit School seniors in Karissa Baker’s Environmental Science elective got all the (literally) dirty deets on Minnesotan wastewater treatment. On Oct. 23, the class took a bus to Cottage Grove where Eagles Point Wastewater Treatment Plant is located. The plant is one of seven operated by the Metropolitan Council of Environmental Services and has been nationally recognized for its energy efficiency and environmentally forward designs. Its visitor’s center is entirely sun-lit, laboratory cabinets are made of sunflower seeds, all heat and air conditioning are powered by the plant, and extensive prairie surrounds the operation, soaking up any toxic runoff. In fact, the plant recently became a NACWA Platinum Peak Performance award winner for perfect NPDES permit compliance for 6 consecutive years.

Eagles Point Chief Operator Tim O’Donnell gave the class a comprehensive, 2.5 hour tour from grit, sludge, and scum filtration, to solid carbon odor absorption, to flocculation, to coagulation, to fluorine and chlorine disinfection. Eagles Point processes some 10 million gallons of wastewater daily, but can handle a maximum of 20 million gallons. “On the Super Bowl and around the holidays, waste water influent really rises a lot!,” O’Donnell said. The plant facilitates primary and secondary wastewater treatment before it discharged filtered water back into the Mississippi River. It’s all very high tech. For those who loved conceptual chemistry, serious jobs with a chemical bent exist.