March 4, 2016 by Juan Cortes Date: 3/1/2016 Press Releases Contact: Thien Ng, P.E. (805) 432-3575 Thien.Ng@oxnard Wastewater Treatment Plant Suffers Pump Station Failure On February 27, the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) suffered an interstage pump- or pump shaft- failure. The interstage pump station is an integral component of the wastewater treatment process. “The interstage pump station consists of three vertical turbine pumps with two on duty and one on standby,” said Interim Wastewater Division Manager Thien Ng. “Each pump can convey up to 28.9 million gallons of wastewater flow per day,” he said. Last year, the City inspected all three pumps and determined that two pump bowl assemblies were corroded and cracked. Subsequently, the City removed one pump, placing it out of service. After the recent failure, the City was forced to utilize the single remaining interstage pump and one biofilter pump to convey wastewater to the secondary treatment process. Running on such low capacity could lead to partially treated wastewater being released into the ocean. “We are currently repairing the failed pump shaft and should have it back in service by Thursday of this week,” said Ng. “Fixing our interstage pump is high on our list of the many improvements needed at the wastewater treatment plant,” he said. On September 1, 2015, City Council approved the purchase of two new pump bowl assemblies, which were initially scheduled for delivery this week. However, the delivery has been delayed until late April to mid-May due to factory casting issues. Two weeks ago, a cogeneration failure resulted in approximately 80,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater being released into the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, the City did not violate any County regulations during that incident. The WWTP was built in the 1950s and significant upgrades were made in the 1970s. Outside experts have noted that 30% of the system’s assets are in poor or very poor condition. The plant collects, treats and discharges more than 19 million gallons of sewage per day from nearly 40,000 customers.