Welcome everyone to the Park Innovation Flow podcast. Thanks for being here today with us where we talk about park projects, park innovation and wastewater technology that's coming down the pike. So today we have a very good guest to talk about park because she is overseeing park. I have Anna Schrader, she's the engineering manager at South Platte Renew, who oversees all things park. Thanks for being here, Anna.

Yeah, thanks, Blair.

Yeah, I know we talked to you at our inaugural episode we filmed at weftech last October. And I think I told you then we'd be checking back periodically to see how things were going. So this is that check in. Can you, for the listeners, give a little background on who you are, how you got to where you are and what you do all day?

Yeah, so. So my background is actually in geology and geography. So I worked in oil and gas, in some remediation consulting work for a while and always knew I wanted to get into water. So I went back to school for an engineering degree for my master's and I needed a part time job and I just kind of applied to a random part time job which happened to be at Mega Metro Recovery, that wastewater treatment plant, and I was able to successfully get that internship and that was what hooked me into wastewater. I had no plans to fall into this role really, but the, you know, the stars aligned and I finished my degree, finished my internship, and then was came over to South Platte and started working here.

Nice. Did you ever imagine how much opportunity for technology, innovation, that kind of thing there would be in wastewater?

No. Well, you know what, that's not necessarily true because one of my professors at mine said the treatment had never changed in wastewater since like the seventies.

Oh.

And I was like, that's so boring.

Yeah.

Like that can't be right. And so I think there was always kind of like an indicator that things probably needed to change, but I had no idea how quickly and how many different regulations were going to happen in the like 10 years that I've been working.

So, yeah, it does seem like it was stagnant for a long time, but maybe that's just our perspective. But now it seems like everything's going 100 miles an hour. But before that it was like trickling filters. Yeah. I mean, we got activated sludge. Yeah. Right.

We got the vintage filters.

Yeah. Well, what do you do, what do you do when you're not working? What do you do in your free time?

I'm a big skier.

Oh.

Yeah. So I've been spending a lot of my winter skiing all over the State. It's been a pretty good ski year.

Yeah, that's what I've. I haven't skied for a while, but I've been hearing that it's a lot of snow up in the mountains.

Yeah. Yeah.

Cool. Well, all right. Let's get into the icebreaker. Opening question, which is if your job. Engineering manager, park overseer. If your job had a theme song, what would that song be?

I think my theme song would be Party in the USA by. By the. The Miley Cyrus.

Oh, I like it. Party in the usa.

Right? It's like. Yeah, exactly. Kind of like let loose. Little upbeat, have some fun.

Nice. At least. At least it's not Wrecking ball. That would be Party in the usa. All right. Well, I like that approach to. To work. And that's a good goal to have. It's a good goal. And most people don't think we're partying here at Wastewater Park.

No. They think we're like, boring and old.

I know, I know. We're trying to break that mold.

Yeah, exactly.

All right, well, let's get into Park. This is just a check in. So I guess my main question is what's new with park? What have you been doing? What have you been getting out to and how's it going? Yeah, so there's a lot in there, but.

Yeah. What's it been like? So about six months, right? Yeah, we've done a bunch of different things. So we've had, I think one of our most exciting milestones is the PD and a trailer coming up and finally getting that online and running. And I think there's even an episode maybe focusing on that to go check out. But that's one of the really impactful pilots we have right now because it's defining our treatment process here at the plant, how that's going to change, and then ultimately the impact to our CIP over the next five to 10 years. So that was really fun.

PDNA being for the listeners.

Yeah. Oh, yes. Acronyms. The partial denitrification Anammox.

Okay.

And we've had our staff on site build out that trailer right now to get it up and going. They've been working with Tetra Tech, an AECOM and a bunch of actually different people on a WERF project. So there's a. There's a. We're the mountain location, and then there's the east coast and some west coast.

So.

That'S one of our, like, on site pilots. And we're also doing a whole UV optimization study that we just kicked off. So That'll be really exciting. Just for our internal staff.

What does that involve?

So we commissioned our UV system end of last year or the year before, and now we want to see just how energy efficient, operationally efficient, we can run that system and for long term. So through the seasons, through months. Yeah. Just to really dial in kind of that sustainability and energy use.

Yeah. You need an old guy like me who tells his kids to turn the lights off all the time. You might want me hitting that up on be like, what are you using? Turn it down, turn it down.

Maybe we record your voice and put that on schedule as an alarm.

You're letting heat out. Shut that door.

What are you doing? What are we eating in the neighborhood? Yeah, exactly.

Cool. So UV optimization, what else you got going?

Let's see, we're actually setting up quite a few research projects with University of Colorado Boulder. So we're looking at doing some H2S or odor control research and then maybe some more DPR direct potable reuse, like regionalization work. So just a bunch of different kind of topics with. With a newer partner to us, which would be cu.

Yeah.

Kind of trying to expand who we're working with.

Cool. Well, speaking of regionalization, direct potable reuse, I sat in on a meeting where you give a presentation. Park, can you talk about that group a little bit? It was the. Oh, what was that called?

The One Water OWL Group.

One Water Leaders.

Yes. Yeah, yeah. The Denver One Water leaders came to our facility for one of their meetings. And that group is a collaborative effort from a bunch of different entities, I think in the state. And with their goal of, of like integrated planning across its stormwater, drinking water, wastewater, all the waters for that One Water idea. And they came here and we wanted to kind of highlight park and possibly discuss the future partnership opportunities that may be out there. So. And really the kind of fundamental, I guess part of it was that we have this infrastructure set up. Here are our goals, which is to focus on sustainability, better treatment, being ahead of regulatory requirements. And the biggest thing with piloting and research is that it's all planning. So some of these people, part of the OWL group, the owls, are starting really significant long term planning projects. Like, I think Denver Water's starting a huge planning effort. So. And that's kind of where the opportunity of piloting comes in, is, you know, how can we leverage our site with some of their goals or some of their questions that they need help answered.

Yeah.

And so how can we come together and work on those kind of common problems? Because at the end of the day, you know, the water is coming in and out of the state. We need to use it, we need to clean it. We all benefit from all these things, so why not kind of work together to come to those solutions? So hopefully there's more to come on.

That.

As we further develop those.

Yeah, yeah. I think the whole, you know, we've been talking one water for a while, folks in the industry, but this, the direct potable reuse thing is really going to require that because that's treating wastewater to drinking water, which isn't always the same. Doing the wastewater that's doing the drinking water and there's water rights anyway. That's one area where it's like, that's where it's gonna have to have that regionalization, that collaboration, that one water concept has to come together in order to pull that off. But I know they were excited to. You gave them a tour of the trailer there and they were excited to see that. So that's good. Where else have you been out? Have you gone to any other conferences, presentations, things like that?

Yeah, so we recently went to NAWQA and presented about PARC and collaboration in the industry and that was really well received. I think it's getting people excited to maybe do work differently, like just set up some things a little bit differently to move forward in addressing those unknown questions that we really need to figure out to move forward. I think things we have going on upcoming. We have quite a few presentations going on this summer. We'll be at the joint conference the Biosolids and Residuals and the Integrative or Integrative. No, the Innovations in Treatment Technology conference in May, I think, in Maryland. Shout out to the PDA team again to present on their work with. With Tetra Tech and aecom. Mason Manross and Brianna Miller from South Platte will be there. And then we're going to be presenting an ace in Denver this summer too, in June for PFAS Fingerprinting project.

Cool.

So that's a project that we've been working on this past year into the next year on identifying PFAs in the collection system, trying to use online instrumentation and machine learning and AI. So our friends at Browne and Caldwell and University of Oklahoma are partnered on that project. So we're going to be giving an update on some of the results we found and some of the challenges that we're seeing with pfas.

That's another example of that one water cooperation, because that's a water group aces drinking water, folks, and they're interested in what we're doing on the wastewater side as far as pfas, fingerprinting. So, yeah, it's all, it's all coming together.

It's all connected.

The water is a cycle. All right, well, what kind of feedback have you been hearing? Have you been. What's the. What's the word on park when, after you give these presentations or show people around, give them a tour. What are you hearing back about it?

I mean, we've only been receiving positive feedback like this is, you know, something without the industry needs. This is what. How we should set things up to work. I think the. Particularly in the utilities, we can get so focused on the demand of our job day to day because it's so tied to public health. Right. Like, we have kind of a mission every day to accomplish and it's really easy to forget to maybe call up a different treatment plant to see what they're doing. So I think PARC is like a vehicle to collaborate and I think having it set up is allowing other people to skip over that hard work of implementing something and just kind of jump into the action part. So we've only gotten really excited people who want to partner and they're always thinking about things that they could work on or things that they're seeing, and maybe it's this new probe that they want to test out here or this kind of programming for aeration or something. So it's been really well received. I think it's been really exciting.

Yeah, I hear, I hear a lot of buzz as well. And I haven't, of course, maybe they just don't tell us because, you know, we're part of it. But yeah, I always hear good things. If are there areas like, I know you're involved in the master plan and that was kind of tied in with the whole park concept. Are there areas at the plant where you're looking to, you know, double down on research or, you know, what are those areas?

I guess, Yeah, I think one of a really exciting upcoming research effort or focus that I want to see. And we are, we are seeing actually as a facility is some more research around, like carbon redirection and like primary treatment with that. So kind of going back to some upcoming projects, we have secured some funding to pilot aaa, which I always have to look it up. It's alternating activated absorption.

All right. Ding, ding, ding.

Yeah. See those acronyms? 50% of people probably know what they are even talking about.

Well, they don't roll off the tongue. You might want to rename that. Yeah.

AAA is taken. I think yeah.

AAA is the Auto Club.

All right, so that one is. That one's really exciting because it's looking at how we treat primary, like, sludge differently and how to remove more. And if we remove more, then that means more solids go to the digester. If more solids go to the digester, then we generate more biogas. If we generate more biogas at South Platte, we can generate more natural gas, renewable natural gas. So I think that's what gets so fun with piloting, is like, you start changing one thing that might be just like this one little process, but those downstream impacts, you know, are cascading. So now all of a sudden, this one little thing is making, like, an improvement here, an improvement here, and an improvement here, and the whole system is starting to change a little bit.

Yeah. And it works that way. I've seen. And let me ask you, have you seen that working that way in the mindset of employees and vendors and engineers that work on the projects as well, where it spurs them to the next thing?

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I think the, like, challenge with piloting is like, when do you stop? Yeah, it's like getting the. To stay the scope of what it can be right now because there's so much to look at. And oftentimes, you know, that first question just causes 10 more questions that need to be answered and you're like, wait, we got it. Let's just focus on the one and then the next time we'll do the other two. Because, yeah, it's. I mean, it's endless and it's. It's just really fun. I think it's. It's people. You know, people are allowed to kind of get creative and think differently and talk about things that maybe just normally don't get to do on the day to day.

Yeah, it's like an adult version of like taking a kid to the amusement park. And they just want to do everything and they never want to leave. And you're like, you gotta. We gotta plan our day here.

Yeah, Right. Yeah. Where's the itinerary? Make sure we were sticking on task. Yeah.

Well, cool. What you have been working with, you know, your employees are involved with PARC engineers that have come in. You're right at the center of that. So I wanted to ask you, what do you think makes a good innovator? What do you think it takes to be good at innovation or to welcome innovation?

I mean, I think to be good at innovating, you have to get a little bit more comfortable with failure. And that's either the organization Allows you to try things and it might not work right off the bat. So to allow that space to actually innovate is quite. I mean it's very hard. Anyone who works on pilots and research, it is a hard thing to do. A lot of it's. Nothing really goes right. You're constantly trying to fix one thing and then something else breaks. But it's one of those really rewarding and you kind of just like get, I don't want to say like addicted to it because it's just so tough, but it's also just really rewarding. And to get to a final like place where you've solved that problem, it's like a puzzle. You finally like finish the puzzle and it's just, it's the best feeling.

Yeah.

But it's that double edged sword, like. Yeah. It comes with some struggle.

Yeah. Or you get to the end and there's a few pieces missing.

Yeah.

And you're like the ones you buy at the garage sale.

Right. Dang it. Like, it still kind of works though. But I mean a lot of is just the people working on those pilots are the ones who like really make, I think innovation fun. You gotta want to have people who want to work there on those projects and kind of can get through those tough times for sure. So project teams are really important too. And that energy is like just, it's just, you can't get away from it. You always want to be a part of it and then you're like, oh, what are they working on? I want to go be a part of that too. Yeah, that's the word. Contagious.

Yeah, yeah, no, it is, it's like reprogramming. Because our whole careers and through college and you're like, yeah, here's how it is. You do it so it works at the end and then you get to the end and then it's over. But like piloting is never over and it doesn't always work and it's not always, you know, designed neatly where everything's in place, you know. So. Yeah, I found that too with just watching people. It's like a different, you gotta take a different mindset.

Yeah, yeah. You gotta have both though, because you can have those big idea people who are like, yeah, let's do this crazy thing. And then you have that other person who's like, dude, that's insane. You know what like the infrastructure of that would look like? So we gotta like marry the like big ideas and that realistic like design element too.

Yeah, Yeah, I never thought about that. You still gotta. Yeah. Last time we talked, I think you had mentioned a, you know, there's the Liquid park site, and I thought you said there was some other pieces coming online. Can you talk about that a little bit?

Yes. So since weftech we have actually set up and I think almost finalized if it's. I think it's running our natural gas stream. So now we have a test stream on the. In the middle of our biogas upgrading skid to allow us to pull some biogas off to send out for more research testing. So we have a partnership with NREL and University of Virginia who are running some piloting and research on our biogas. And then after that, we actually now have. We're just under contract for design for our park. Solid site.

Nice.

Yeah. So that is, I think our goal is to start up and commission that next year, early next year. So to bring in. Yeah. Some more streams to pull off for more piloting. Get some more trailers in here. Yeah, yeah.

That solid site that excites me because I think there's so much we should be doing or hopefully we will be doing as far as, you know, different kinds of treatment for the sludge, you know, or, you know, as far as beneficial reuse, biochar.

Right.

You know, pyrolysis, all that.

Yeah.

Takes that solid side, I think. Yeah. Hopefully it'll spur some good things.

And one of the big focuses we hope to kind of bring in is the ability to test, like, dewatering technologies and specifically like polymers. So how. Like an ongoing polymer testing site so that we can, you know, swap out polymers if we want and. Yeah. Get some. And that really ties into, like, plant efficiency. Not necessarily like new and innovative, but really beneficial for O and M. And.

The bottom line, that polymer is like so expensive that if you can save, you know, every little bit you can save is a huge dollar saving. So. Yeah, that'll be great.

Yeah.

Cool. Well, what else do you. You want to talk about on your time here? Thanks for. Thanks for filling us in. Oh, what about the. They interviewed us, remember, for the Treatment Plant Operator magazine. You haven't seen that, have you? No, I don't think it's come out yet. No. They said they'd send me.

Yeah.

Notification, but I haven't seen anything.

Oh, man.

Maybe talk about that.

Yeah. So we were. What, it was another podcast, right?

Yeah, yeah.

No, it wasn't. It was an article.

Yeah. It was an art. Well, she wrote the lady who wrote the article as a podcast, then she did the article and they came out and took Pictures, like it was a whole photo shoot.

Yeah.

Production.

Really out of our element. Photo shoot. I mean, you. Yeah, you and Peter did great.

I didn't get many of the photos. I think they took a look at me and they're like, we're gonna find someone else.

They, like, walked me up a trickle filter and they said I was. It was great. Like, the lighting was great. But then I'm getting blinded by them. The reflective thing. I don't know how people say, oh.

Yeah, they had reflectors in there.

I felt like I was just squinting the whole time. Like all these muscles were so sore. I'm behind a camera person, I think.

Yeah.

Or some sunglasses.

Yeah. This podcast here we have Denver Film Company does a great job filming, but they turn the, you know, they turn this room into a studio, have cameras, and I'm always like, wow, this is like. This is like, I must be on NBC News or something.

Yeah, I feel that way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right, well, did you have anything else you wanted to share with the listeners while you were here? And hopefully we can. Hopefully, won't be too long before we can have you back to see how some of this stuff is shaking out.

I would say try to catch us at some of those upcoming conferences. If you're in Maryland in May, we'll be there. If you're at ace, be there too. And then we're going to go back to weftech. So we're gonna have another Weft tech booth.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. So stop by Talk Park. We're gonna have some cool swag again, stickers. Poo pourri if you. If you ran out.

Yeah, Poo pourri. I'm still using that. I took like three bottles. This stuff lasts forever, too. It's this spray and it's like, I don't know, poo pourri. It's self explanatory. You spray it in your bathroom. Smells great.

Yeah. Yeah.

But, yeah, if you ever see the park crew out there, don't hesitate to drop by because we always love talking Park.

Yeah.

And. Yeah. Cool. Why? Are you ready for the end of show activity?

I am ready.

All right. I'm gonna surprise you with this.

Unplanned.

Yeah, that's how I like to spring it on the guests. So we're doing the five second rule. So I'm gonna set a timer here. Five seconds. Let me see. Timer. Five seconds. And I'm gonna give you a category. It'll be three things. You gotta give me three things in five seconds. And we'll see how many of These you can get, and they're mostly water related, but. All right. Are you ready for the first one?

Okay. Yes, sir.

All right. Five second roll with Anna Schrader, park manager. Here we go. Three ways to save water.

Oh. Turn off the faucet when you're brushing your teeth. Don't double rinse your dishes, just put them in the dishwasher.

Nope. Time. All right, but you get the feel.

Less press, less efficient.

And I set this for minutes, so it's not gonna. That's not gonna work. Let me see. I'm not a whiz with the iPad here. Five seconds. That's five minutes. Anyone could do that.

Yeah.

Okay. Five is a quick. Yeah, that's a lot of time. You gotta talk fast. Okay. Ready?

Yep.

Three types of bottled water. Go.

Evian, smart water, and Dasani.

Yes. Got it.

I don't know if that's good that I know that, you know, like, do I.

That's all right. It's all right. Okay. Five second rule. Three things that move water. Go.

Pumps.

Time's up. Time's up. That's a hard one, that one.

Yeah.

That one's maybe trucks maybe.

Oh, yeah. Hoses.

Hoses. If we only had 10 seconds. If we could work together and we had 10 seconds.

I know. I'm a good, big group project person.

Yeah, right. Okay, I got a couple more here. This one's related to our industry. Three things that shouldn't go down the drain. Go.

Ooh. Wipes. Anything plastic and toys.

Got it right under the wire. Very good. Okay, last one, I think. Let me see how many you've got.

This is the most stressful part of this.

I know, I know. I think you're about 50. 50 here. Okay, I like this one. For the final, give me three things. Three places you wouldn't want to drop your phone at a wastewater plant. Go.

Primaries, secondaries, SCTs.

Oh, easy, easy for you.

I know that one.

Yeah. Pretty much anywhere. Really?

Yeah, really.

All right, well, cool.

Thank you.

I think you. You won.

Oh, yeah.

My thing says you won. Good job. And thanks for being here to give us an update on the park program. It's always fun to. To chat with you and see what's going on, which there always seems to be. A ton.

Yeah.

So thanks for taking the time today.

Yeah, thanks for having me here and let it. Let me update.

Yeah, you bet. And to our listeners, thanks for listening to the Innovation Flow podcast. Give us a five star rating if you like the show on your. Whatever podcast player you're listening on. If you're watching the show on YouTube, be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. And make sure you tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your relatives about the Innovation Flow Podcast so we can build up some listeners that way. And thanks again for listening and watching the Park Innovation Flow Podcast.