June 22, 2001
Construction has begun on a different kind of waste treatment plant
By Erik Burriss
Staff Writer
Construction has started on a different kind of waste water treatment facility, nestled along the railroad tracks west of Tiffin.
Tiffin Loader Crane, relocating from CR 1 to a site on SR 18, is building a Sheaffer system.
Conceived by Jack Sheaffer -- then science advisor to the secretary of the Army and co-author of the Clean Water Act -- in the 1960s, the system uses a series of aerated ponds to hold waste water until natural processes break down the organic material. The water can then be used for irrigation.
The need to expand and consolidate facilities is driving Tiffin Loader Crane's move. The company wants to expand its crane-assembly operation and house the U.S. distribution center of the Austrian crane manufacturer Palfinger AG. Tiffin Loader Crane uses four buildings at the airport industrial park to install cranes on tractor trailers.
"We want to put everything under one roof," said Joe Irving, senior president of Tiffin Loader Crane.
But before construction could begin, the company had to get its waste water ducks in a row. State regulations require that the company either treat the waste water on-site or send it to the Tiffin sewer plant.
The planning process alone for a sewer running the 1.5 miles down SR 18 from the site to Market Street would have added a year to the project, Irving said, an unacceptable delay that would have nixed the relocation of Palfinger's distribution center from Canada to Seneca County.
After discussions with their consultants, the company decided on a Sheaffer system, to be located at the rear of the property next to the CSX tracks.
By holding wastewater for up to a month, the system allows organic material to break down naturally, while a layer of aerated water prevents noxious gases and odors from escaping, said Tom Sweeney, president of Sheaffer Sweeney International, the North Ridgeville-based subsidiary of Sheaffer International. There is enough air in the water to keep it saturated for several days in the event of a power loss.
"We do it the way God does it," Sweeney said.
Unlike conventional sewer plants, the process creates no sludge. The only byproducts, apart from nutrient-rich water, are inorganic solids, Sweeney said.
"It's the sand and the diamond ring you dropped down the sink," he said. "There's no biological component."
Tiffin Loader Crane plans to use the water to irrigate the property's landscaping, Irving said.
"I promised the neighbors I would have a green belt on three sides," he said. "It ought to look pretty attractive."
This system will consist of two artificial ponds, above ground because of the shallow water table.
Its 2,000-gallon-per-day capacity is very small as far as Sheaffer systems go, Sweeney said. The largest, with a 34 million-gallon-per-day capacity is in Muskegon, Mich. In addition to businesses, Sheaffer systems have been built for resorts, golf courses, large farms and municipalities.
The larger systems use the treated water, which is rich in nutrients, to irrigate nearby farms.
"It's the potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen, which is why farmers love us," Sweeney said. "To the extent they use the water, they don't have to buy those chemicals."
Sweeney's dream is to see Sheaffer systems replace traditional water treatment plants.
"I truly believe in this technology," he said.
They requires less staffing to operate, there is no sludge to dispose of and the water can help irrigate agricultural land on the outskirts of urban areas, he said.
Sheaffer International will build, operate and maintain systems which it continues to own. In Virginia, two Shenandoah Valley towns and two poultry producers signed on for a 1.9 million-gallon-per-day system that reduces annual nitrogen and phosphorus releases in to the North Fork of the Shenandoah River by 200,000 pounds.
However, there is a long way to go before Sheaffer systems are standard.
While Sheaffer International and its subsidiaries in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio have built 88 systems -- 60 in the last 15 years -- Tiffin Loader Crane's will be the first operational system in Ohio. A system was built in Summit County, but one local resident raised such a fuss about the whole idea of development, the developer bought up all the surrounding land and connected to a municipal sewer system before the Sheaffer system could come on-line, Sweeney said.
However, several other systems are now in the works for Ohio, he said.
Tiffin Loader Crane plans to open in its new location in September.