Columbus Water Works (CWW) owns approximately 600 acres of land near the treatment facility. The Land Reclamation Site is adjacent to the treatment facility and consists of 268 acres dedicated to land application of biosolids. This site has been utilized since 1981 as a land application site. The Oxbow Meadows site was developed in 1996 and has 296 acres dedicated to land application of biosolids.

Biosolids are intended to be applied to the fields at approved rates that are calculated annually. The biosolids application rate for Oxbow Meadows and the Land Reclamation Site are at 6 tons/acre. The biosolids are pumped from the treatment facility to "risers" located in the fields. A bulldozer driven plow is connected to a riser by a 600 foot flexible hose. The biosolids are injected 18 inches below the soil surface. After the fields have received their full appliation rates, hay crops are planted and grown to take up the nutrients.

The Land Reclamation site is a 268 acre site divided into 15 fields. It is adjacent to the SCWRF. This area was once heavily mined for sand and clay. CWW purchased the land and developed it into a successful biosolids application program. The site is also bordered by several fishing ponds and the Columbus River walk. Brown top millet and winter wheat are grown for crops with a yield this year of 15,000 bales.

The Oxbow Meadows site is a 296 acre site located about 3/4 mile south of the SCWRF. This site has been divided up into 25 fields. Brown top Millet is grown in the summer and winter wheat is grown in the fall/winter. This year 20,000 bales of winter wheat and brown top millet were harvested.

In 1994, the purchase of the property containing the Oxbow land application site (consisting of about 650 acres) allowed for the creation of the Environmental Learning Center, the closing of an old landfill, and provision of a site for inert waste disposal by the City of Columbus.

During parts of the year, biosolids are dewatered in centrifuges to a concentration of 25% solids and transported off site for land application by a private contractor on permitted sites.

Currently, an innovative demonstration project is underway which provides a very unique approach to removal of nitrates in the soil, as a result of the land application of biosolids. Upon completion of this project, all CWW's production of biosolids can be applied to the existing fields. Presently, application of biosolids on our fields is conducted from May 1 to October 1 each year and accounts for approximately 2,500 dry tons of biosolids annually.

In addition to the nitrate removal demonstration project, a new innovative Process to Further Reduce Pathogens (PFRP) is being developed which will cost effectively produce a Class A biosolids product. The process was originally suggested during sludge studies consisting of sequenced thermophylic reactors. The process has been confirmed in bench scale studies at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and a prototype unit at the Columbus wastewater plant. The new patent for this project has been donated to the Water Environment Research Foundation so as to be available to other public systems. This project, to be completed by mid-2007, will further enhance CWW's options for biosolids disposal.

The Columbus Water Works is a municipal enterprise operation under the direction of a five person board. The day to day operations are directed by the President, Bob Tant. All treatment operations are managed by the Division of Water Resources, Managed Maintenance and Security which is led by Senior V.P. Cliff Arnett and Vice President Lynn Campbell. The Superintendent of the South Columbus Water Resource Facility is Mike Taylor under which the Biosolids operations are directed.