Technology replaces senses

ELECTRONIC advances rank as the biggest change experienced by Manawatu District Council’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor, Russell Dean, during his lengthy career in the world of murky water.

Russell, recently honoured by council for his unbroken 35-year service in Feilding, said most of his time had been spent in manually operated plants.

“I suppose you could class me as being from the old school where you relied on your nose, ears and eyes,” he said.

“Now, the new operators are all electronically wired up – but you need them, the computers and all the electronic gear to meet the high discharge standards required today. PC units have only recently been fitted to equipment, while process controls are automating things like valves so the plant can be run from a laptop.”

Russell, council’s longest serving employee, said he had been involved with a number of major upgrades at the plant.

“Upgrades are more regularly needed to meet the discharge targets,” he said. “It can be quite difficult, but it’s something we are always working on, and that’s what I find interesting – those sorts of challenges.”

Born and raised in Hawke’s Bay, Russell gained his qualifications in Tokoroa and worked at the town’s treatment plant for three years before moving to Feilding in 1975 as the borough’s sewage treatment plant operator. He continued in that role after the MDC was formed in 1989, before his appointments as waste plant manager in 1994 and plant supervisor last year.

“I have always found the job interesting because of the biological treatment system we have and the recent addition of chemical dosing to meet high environmental standards. And what really fires me up is getting a result from the plant and seeing what the finished product looks like.”

He said the plant, commissioned in 1967, had been one of the best of its type in New Zealand at the time, and he had been fortunate in being able to retain its high standard by purchasing proven equipment rather than the cheaper options.

“You want your gear to last a long time, like an English-manufactured pump that was part of the original plant and is still running.”

Though he has no immediate thoughts of retirement, Russell is looking forward to further involvement in his family’s major sporting passion, tennis – a far cry from sludge ponds, biological filters, heavy solids and UV treatment.