Every day, you flush, shower, wash dishes and clothes, and the dirty water just goes away. Most of us never give used water a second thought. Unfortunately, too often, the water cleaning process that keeps us and the Cumberland River healthy is out-of-sight and out-of-mind.
Utilizing billions of naturally occurring microorganisms, and huge machinery at 3 different wastewater treatment plants, Metro Water Services (MWS) cleans over 130 million gallons of water a day and returns it to the Cumberland River, safe for wildlife and recreation.
To shed light on this important public health and environmental process, Metro Water Services is launching a campaign to educate our community on the water reclamation process.
Posters about the wastewater treatment process will be installed in Metro facilities where we cannot help but notice it - bathroom stalls. You can see the poster at the MWS Customer Services Center, Metro Parks Nature Centers and Community Centers, the Historic Courthouse, Lindsley Hall, and many other government buildings. Visit wastewater.nashville.gov for a list of locations or to print your own poster.
Metro Water Services is also giving public tours of the Whites Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. These field-trips-for-adults take visitors through the facility and its laboratory. You will see how the water goes from dirty to clean in 24-hours, meet the Operators responsible for keeping our community and our river healthy, and learn what steps you can take to prevent sewer clogs. Visitors can register for a free, one-hour walking tour at nashvillewastewatertour.eventbrite.com.
For those unable to take a tour, tune in to the Metro Nashville Network (channel 3) to see a video of the treatment process. The video will be aired at the following times:
- Wednesday, 7/10 at 6:25 p.m.
- Wednesday, 7/10 at 6:54 p.m.
- Saturday, 7/13 at 6:16 a.m.
- Saturday, 7/13 at 10:36 a.m.
- Saturday, 7/13 at 4:46 p.m.
- Saturday, 7/13 at 6:57 p.m.
- Saturday, 7/13 at 9:21 p.m.
To learn more about where it goes when you go, visit wastewater.nashville.gov and follow @NashvilleMWS on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.