HRSD

Feature Friday: Our Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention (P3) Department! HRSD issues permits and monitors wastewater discharged from businesses and industries to protect the environment and our facilities. These businesses pretreat their industrial wastewater before discharging it to HRSD's system, helping to protect our waterways and other natural resources. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized HRSD's pretreatment program as one of the nation's best. The Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Department monitors wastewater through toxic and surcharge surveys and sampling. They conduct regular inspections at industrial sites, issue permits to new industries and investigate violations.

Recent research out of Virginia Tech has found land in southeastern Virginia is sinking twice as fast as sea levels are rising, and that this issue poses a threat to regional infrastructure. HRSD is currently treating one million gallons of water per day from wastewater to drinking water quality standards and recharging that SWIFT Water into the Potomac Aquifer. One of the goals of SWIFT is not only to provide a sustainable source of water, but also to reduce sinking land. 🔗https://ow.ly/p3BE50SW8tV

The U.S. Geological Survey is working to install its fourth local extensometer! An extensometer is a device that helps to measure sinking land. The extensometers run by the USGS here in Hampton Roads are the only ones operating on the East Coast. One of these is installed at our Nansemond Treatment Plant in Suffolk! The fourth device is being installed in West Point. 🔗Read about it here: https://lnkd.in/eQMFRDgR

It's Feature Friday! 💧😁 We have an exciting update from the James River Treatment Plant!🚧 Phase 1 of the Advanced Nutrient Reduction Improvements (ANRI) project is complete and operational, a crucial milestone. Phase 1 includes a new secondary clarifier, a Return Activated Sludge (RAS) pump station, and the Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) Channels 1-6. ➡️Check here (https://ow.ly/quRv50SUiQL) for more progress updates! #SWIFTVA #InfrastructureMatters

Here's a peek at what's happening with our Eastern Shore Sewer Infrastructure Improvements Project! HRSD is undertaking a project to construct 🚧 a system of sewer pipes approximately 121,000 feet in length along with four pump stations to convey wastewater flows from the Towns of Nassawadox, Exmore, Wachapreague, and Accomac, and existing sewer customers in Accomack County to the Onancock Wastewater Treatment Plant. Pictured 📸here: the pump station in Accomac, located on Front Street & the pump station in Wachapreague, a submersible pump station located on the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and Riverview Avenue. Both are expected to be completed by the end of the summer/early fall. These pump stations and their pipelines will convey wastewater to the Onancock Wastewater Treatment Plant! 💧 ➡️Find out more about the projects here: https://lnkd.in/esyfPBRJ .

It's Professional Engineers Day and we're celebrating our HRSD Engineers! Our engineering division is responsible for planning, designing, constructing, and lifecycle monitoring and analyzing the infrastructure needs and goals of HRSD! 🚧Learn more about our current projects here: https://lnkd.in/eiEqbZwe Happy #professionalengineersday

Congratulations to our 2023 Pollution Prevention (P2) Awards Winners! Each year HRSD's P2 awards honor businesses and industries that focus on reducing waste ♻️ and toxins 💧 in the air, land, or water at the source! We recognize pretreatment excellence award winners for exemplary permit compliance and outstanding pollution prevention measures in 2023. 👏These businesses pretreat their industrial wastewater before discharging it into HRSD’s system! Their efforts help protect our waterways and other natural resources. You can view the winners here! https://ow.ly/jMpl50SRWNx

Did you know that oysters are central in the history of HRSD? HRSD traces its early beginnings to 1925 when the Virginia Department of Health condemned a large oyster-producing area in Hampton Roads due to pollution and contamination of local waterways. Since 1940, HRSD has provided sanitary sewer service 🚽to all major population centers in southeastern Virginia, treating wastewater to protect public health and the environment. The population served has grown from about 288,000 in 1940 to just over 1.9 million today! Oysters 🦪 are important not only to HRSD's history but also to our environment 💧! These filter feeders clean the water around them by consuming algae and other particles. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day! Today is a great reminder of the value of oysters to our ecosystem and the importance of maintaining clean waterways 🌊. #NationalOysterDay

Happy National Oyster Day!🦪 In recent years, HRSD staff have released over 4,000 oysters at locations including the Boat Harbor, James River, and Virginia Initiative Treatment Plants. Together, these oysters can filter around 200,000 gallons of Chesapeake Bay water in just one day!

Frequently asked question: what wastewater services are billed through HRSD/HRUBS?