EDUCATIONAL TOUR

High school students check out city’s sewage water treatment facility

Environmental studies students from Lorain High School left their classroom May 29 for an up close look at how the city handles its raw sewage.

The students were transported to the Lorain Waste Water Treatment Plant, 100 Alabama Ave., and were treated to a tour of the facility that takes in the city’s sewage.

“We have about three of our classes here and 21 students in total,” said John Akosi, environmental studies teacher at Lorain High. “The class is an elective for juniors and seniors, and this is the first time we have taken a class to see this plant.”

Akosi said the trip was spawned through the importance of water conservation.

“We focus on making sure students are thinking about the importance of saving the water they use,” he said. “This means watching the amount you use while brushing teeth and taking showers.

“The class is all about being ecologically friendly, and I thought this would be a good idea to show them what happens to the water when they are done using it.”

Akosi said the trip should help

correct a common misconception.

“I think a good number of people think our sewage is dumped into the lake before being purified for reuse,” he said. “The city actually has a very fascinating facility here that cleans the sewage of all our waste before putting it back into Lake Erie.”

Akosi said the class is something the students really get excited about.

“It’s a pretty easy course for them to get behind,” he said. “It’s not like chemistry, it’s not abstract.

“They can see the realworld applications of the class and see how what they do on a daily basis can make the world a cleaner place.”

Jasmine Baladez, 17, a junior at Lorain High, said she learned that air was added to the water during the process to reduce the smell of sewage.

“It’s very fascinating to learn what happens to the water after we use it,” Jasmine said. “They also separate the different types of waste and make it nice and clean.”

Joshua Cruzodo, 17, a junior at Lorain High, was not too fond of the water’s smell.

“It not something you think about until you go in there and smell that stuff,” Joshua said.

“There is a very thorough process the water goes through to rid it of the poop. I’m glad they go to great lengths to clean the water.”

ERIC BONZAR — THE MORNING JOURNAL Teacher John Akosi and a group of Lorain High School environmental science scholars get a tour of the city’s waste water treatment plant from plant assistant superintendent Tim Cox on May 29.

ERIC BONZAR — THE MORNING JOURNAL Assistant Superintendent Tim Cox, left, walks a group of Lorain High School environmental science scholars through a tour of the city’s Black River Waste Water Treatment Plant, May 29.