What do Microbiology and Core Values have in common? A lot more then you might think! When the City of El Dorado’s Wetlands and Water Reclamation Facility experienced a toxic event last month, City employees rallied together to investigate the issue, find a solution, and work to get the system back on track. We first noticed a problem when ammonia numbers began to climb eventually killing a majority of the bugs involved in our water treatment process. Our bugs were sick and dying and we didn’t know the cause!
Without hesitation, City employees took action. Manholes were identified, labs were run every two hours in the field, hourly at the treatment plant, and meetings with local businesses commenced to try to find the source of the systems contamination. Our employees exemplified Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Innovation, Stewardship, and Excellence (all of our Core Values) in their dedication to their jobs and community during this potentially catastrophic event. We also witnessed the ability of strong civic and regional relations in solving problems that no one wants to experience. With the help of Wichita Wastewater and their willingness to haul in bugs from one of their facilities we were able to get our plant back to normal operations!
Now that we have had time to reflect on the situation, we have been able to improve our processes and truly take a moment to recognize the power of teamwork, values, and bugs in solving problems.