2000 computer bug can't foul up the laws of gravity, scientists said. It's not until the wastewater reaches the community's wastewater treatment plant that computers come in to play. Workers often use computers to aid in the release of treatment products into the wastewater, measuring the flow of material moving through the plant and tracking water flow at different treatment stations at the plant. What happens during treatment is essentially a speeded-up process of what occurs naturally in a lake or stream, scientists said.
Treatment usually involves two major steps and a process to dispose of solids.
The city of Edmonds' treatment plant is the only wastewater treatment plant in Snohomish County that relies heavily on computers throughout the treatment process. The Edmonds facility is one of the newer wastewater treatment facilities in the county. Most of the other plants use computers, but to a lesser degree, said Steve Koho, plant manager at the Edmonds wastewater treatment plant. The Edmonds plant treats about 10 million gallons of sewage a day from Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Woodway, Richmond Beach, the Olympic View Water and Sewer District, and the Shoreline Wastewater Management District. That rounds out to about 75,000 people in the service area, Koho said.