In 2021, the Wayne Wastewater Treatment Facility pumped 307,528,400 gallons of water for both domestic and irrigation use for residents.  

According to Wayne’s website, cityofwayne.org, the Wastewater Treatment Plant opened for operation in March 1985. However, its planning dates back to 1976 when Wayne received a grant to build a wastewater treatment plant.  

“The plant is designed to serve a maximum population of 8 thousand people,” the website said. “It is designed for 6,000 gallons of water per day and holds a capacity of 850,000 gallons of water.”   

According to Water Supervisor Casey Junck, the plant officially went digital during the fall of 2019.  

The process that the water is treated is long but thorough to understand. The water used is from the continuous wells that are located off-campus sites. According to the City of Wayne website, the process can be summarized in eight easy-to-understand steps. The first thing the water goes through is a 33-foot-deep vertical screen where large waste particles are filtered through. The water is sent to the Degritter in the Headworks Building where the Degritter moves the smaller waste particles from the water.  

The third step in the process comes from a series of five tanks, known as the Aquarius system tanks, where air is added to the water. Then the water is given further treatment to get rid of leftover waste and bacteria left in the water by a series of clarifiers, then they are sent to a Digester, and a series of UV light treatments for further waste removal. After all the bacteria and harmful waste has been removed, the water gets to the Belt Press where liquid and solids have been separated. The liquid is sent to the beginning of the process and the rest of the solids are driven away for agricultural use in the fields.  

When it comes to the college campus, Wayne State College receives its water source from the same process as the community that surrounds it. According to the Director of Facility Services, Kyle Nelsen, the campus used approximately 48,567,000 gallons of water in the year 2022. Overall, WSC tries to push toward sustainability and conservation as best as it can.  

“It’s in our best interest to conserve water,” Dean of Students Jay Collier said. “The college has initiatives that aim at sustainability and water is one of the prongs of that. Around three quarters of the campus is not irrigated outside the grounds.”   

The minimum water usage on the college campus is maintained by the numerous low-flow fixtures that are located in the academic buildings and the Kanter Student Center. Students can help by turning off faucets, taking short showers and turning off lights when they leave a room in order to make the campus a greener campus to learn on.