Reinhold Betschel and Kenny Glanden combine to keep Kent County's water quality high

Few homeowners know what happens to their water after it goes down the drain.   To many, the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” applies.   We are able to think like this because of the hard work of wastewater engineers and planners.   It takes a committed person to dedicate their life to this cause, and Reinhold Betschel has done just that.  With his degree in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State University, Reinhold has served the County as Assistant Director for Public Works since 1995. He’s also been a Murderkill Tributary Action Team member since its beginnings in 2001.  Kenny Glanden, the Kent County Wastewater Treatment Plant Operational Supervisor, also a member of the Tributary Team, has worked there since the plant was built in 1971.

If you live in Kent County, your wastewater goes to the Kent County Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Frederica by way of pump stations positioned around the county.  Even if you have a septic system, the pumped out waste is hauled to a station and pumped to the plant for treatment.   When needed, the plant has the capacity to process overflow amounts from the Harrington Wastewater Treatment Plant.  It is the largest BioLac process facility in the United States, holding up to 20 million gallons of waste water.  Instead of using lagoons, the Kent County WWTP has a new state of the art system using BioLac “chains” and fine bubble diffusers that inject air into the system.  This causes an almost odorless operation and easier maintenance, and has kept the WWTP in compliance with state regulations since its development in 1995.

Kenny Glanden shows us the processed sludge that is used as fertilizer by farms around the state

Betschel received an invitation to join the Murderkill Tributary Action Team when it was started in 2001.  He had watched his engineering staff working with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and knew how complicated compliance is, and how TMDLs affected the plant's operations.  He wanted people to be aware of what goes on at the plant, and to get a better feel for what people think about the facility.  Realizing that people are not well informed on how the waste water treatment plant functions, he made it his goal to improve public awareness.   The Kent County WWTP is one of the few plants in the US that has the BioLac process working on a large scale, and processes treated sludge for use as solid fertilizer on local farms.  The finished product resembles dirt and is sold to 110 farmers around the state for approximately $3.75 a ton.

The plant's effluent is clear, but it can't control the county's non-point sources of pollution.

Reinhold feels that it is the plant's duty to make sure they have the most up to date equipment available to prepare the plant for new TMDL limits. Recently, they've spent a considerable amount of money to optimize the plant's efficiency, with new equipment and studies being run in support of this process. He feels that they are doing their part, but doesn’t have a clear picture of how much is being done to reduce the nutrient loading by non-point sources.

Betschel believes the biggest challenge for the still fledging Murderkill Tributary Team is working together as a cooperative. “We’ve got to mesh to work together as a Team,” he says, adding, “We’ve become friends and can say what we think and not worry about disagreeing with each other.”  He believes that one of the major challenges the Tributary team faces is the speed they are moving, though in comparison he feels they are doing okay.

Of all of the pollution that we deal with in our watershed, Reinhold Betschel and the staff at the Kent County WWTP have gone above and beyond.  If you would like to learn more about the plant or if you would like a tour of the facility, please call the office at 335-6000.