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Continued from page 7 Forty-four metal stairs curl from the street to its lowest level, where one of my guides identifies the machinery we find there as a pair of 165-horsepower motors, capable of pumping the contents of an out- door, underground holding tank at the astounding rate of 165 litres a second. As we ascend, he points out a secondary landing, which holds further monitoring equipment as well as a device which adds a critical chemical to the ongoing flow through gigantic pipes. A pair of 165 hp motors are capable of pumping tanks at a rate of 165 litres a second. But don’t confuse this building’s unremarkable facade with its importance; that’s how appearances deceive. Because it houses a key piece of Port Perry’s infrastructure: a service which most take for granted, but none would do without. Water down the drain and flushing the toilet: they’re common, trivial moments in everyone's day. But what happens once everything vanishes down the drain? Most people don’t know, and may not care. But for two men - Rich Tindall, Scugog Township’s On October 27th vote for a change. Ward 2 a A new approach for a stronger community. Janna@jannaguido.ca 905-985-7039 8 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2014 Manager of Engineering Planning and Bill Bridge, the Chief of Maintenance Operations — the answer to that question is critical, and all in a day’s work. “This waste water pumping station serves much of Port Perry, and all of the downtown,” says Rich. “It’s one of three, and by far the largest.” Bill ensures the system’s pumps keep humming. “We have a staff of four who monitor the process daily and do continual preventative maintenance to ensure the machinery keeps operating efficiently,” he explains. “And if there ever is an emergency, some- one’s on call around the clock.” Like most municipalities, Port Perry’s downtown was initially serviced by septic beds. In the early 70s, an early version of the system still in use was installed. It was simple yet ingenious. “Gravity gathers the waste water here,” Rich says, indicating a cavernous opening in the ground just out- side the station. “We move it from here to six 125,000 cubic metre capacity ‘lagoons’ just north of the soccer fields in the northeast part of town. The pumps are necessary because that 3.4 kilometre distance is uphill.” The pumps move in tandem with the weather, which in turn provides a valuable service to the sys- tem. “Ona sunny, dry day like today, only one of the pumps is operating, and as you can hear, it’s not running too hard. But if there’s a storm, the second one will often kick in. But that heavier flow is good, because it helps cleanse the lines.” 18th ANNIVERSARY Despite the head start offered by Mother Na- ture, the system regularly requires manual cleaning because of the makeup of the area it services. “One of those ‘preven- tative maintenance’ jobs I mentioned is due to grease from downtown restau- rants,” Rich says. “As you’d expect, that can clog TPR GLY COCGS + Everyday Low Pricing 20-80% Below Retail Stock arriving ) Co | 905-985-1890 a) E Msileloe ss ° o arket ea... Saturday, November 1 9:00 am - 2:00 pm Emmanuel Community Church 1680 Reach Street, Port Perry ‘www.emmanuelcc.ca ‘Hosted by Emmanuel Community Church FREE ADMISSION