Wastewater supervisor Brian G. Mason said the employees at the Brown Street and Shun Pike plants take their jobs seriously.
"It's rewarding to us to know that we are doing a good job, and we're making a difference in not only the work we do, but the environment as well," he said. "The first thing that motivates us is knowing that it is making a difference when it comes to the environment with the quality of water we put out. If we take care of that, then we've taken care of the people."
Presently, the city is operating with two wastewater treatment facilities, but in spring 2008, the East Brown Street plant will cease operations and everything will move to the Shun Pike facility.
In preparation for the move, the city is installing 1.2 miles of 30-inch pipe from East Brown Street to John Watts Drive and 2.2 miles of 48-inch pipe from John Watts Drive to the Shun Pike plant.
When the switch is made, an additional 1 million gallons of water will be treated at the Shun Pike facility, bringing the total wastewater treated at that facility to approximately 2.2 million gallons.
When all the work is completed, the Shun Pike facility will be able to handle 4.1 million gallons if the need ever arises.
Bugg said the job is all about managing the microorganisms.
"The bacteria does the work for us, but it's our job to manage the bacteria," he said. "We have a living, breathing organism that cleans up the water for us. But we have to keep the population happy. You don't want it too populated, and you don't want them to get too sparse."
Bugg added that if there is too much bacteria present, then the plant will stink and the plant will lose treatment capabilities. On the flip side, if there isn't enough bacteria to eat up the sewage, then it will all end up in the Town Fork Creek.
If contamination occurs in the creek, it runs into the Kentucky River and will affect the city of Versailles' water supply.
The wastewater plants treat everything that comes out of a household or business pipe, including toilets, showers and sinks. It does not, however, treat storm water.
