Shishkin Les will be treated with modern wastewater treatment

What is the name “Shishkin Les” associated with? First of all – with paintings by the artist Ivan Shishkin. Birches, pines and forest springs – clean air and clean water. But what if this name refers to sewage treatment plants, sludge ponds and related smells? Somehow not so much, right?

In November last year, Mosvodokanal began preparatory work to modernize the Shishkin Les wastewater treatment plant. At the first stage, silt pits were liquidated, construction sites were cleared, building materials were brought up. Now Mosvodokanal is starting the main thing – active construction work, comprehensive modernization and reconstruction of treatment facilities, equipping them with the most modern technologies.

“In the course of the reconstruction, it is planned to build a mechanical treatment building, three aerotanks and three secondary settling tanks, lay new pipelines,” said Pyotr Biryukov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for housing and communal services and landscaping. – In the project, we implement the most advanced technologies, including equipping the facility with systems for deep biological wastewater treatment, post-treatment on disk microfilters and ultraviolet disinfection. We will install energy-efficient equipment, automation and gas cleaning systems. Classical wastewater treatment methods will also be complemented by ultraviolet disinfection, a technology based on irreversible damage to microorganism molecules due to exposure to ultraviolet rays.

… The Shishkin Les treatment facilities were built in 1960. The technologies for treating household wastewater then were somewhat different than they are now. There were no electronic sensors, modern filters and insulating materials, many bacteria were not discovered – and a lot of things were not there … For example, at that time, the presence of waterproofing and protective structures was not supposed in the silt ponds. As a result, pollution could penetrate the soil, poison groundwater and neighboring water bodies. The sewage treatment plant of that time is something huge and foul-smelling. It’s even unpleasant to walk past, let alone live nearby …

Meanwhile, nearby there is a village of the same name, the administrative center of the settlement of Mikhailovo-Yartsevskoye, Troitsk administrative district of Moscow. There are different versions about the origin of its name. Who says that once there was a hill – “shish” and until the 17th century the place was called Shishkin’s wasteland. They also say that the inhabitants planted this wasteland with pines, and then they collected cones in large quantities and stoked stoves with them. And they also say that Ivan Shishkin really came to the nearby estate of Count Sheremetev and painted the surrounding landscapes. So they began to call the surrounding forests Shishkin.

Let’s talk a little about silt maps – what they are, why they are needed and why they are being liquidated in Shishkin Les. In the process of wastewater treatment, activated sludge is formed – a complex of beneficial bacteria that purify water from nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Whomever is not in it: amoeba, infusoria, rotifers, flagellates, filamentous bacteria … This silt was dried in special fenced areas. Silt maps have now been eliminated. And the use of modern methods of wastewater treatment will allow returning water to nature that fully meets sanitary and hygienic requirements. The finished facilities will provide reliable water disposal that meets regulatory standards for 4,000 residents of Shishkin Les with the prospect of expanding the service area to nearby settlements.

Mosvodokanal has been carrying out a comprehensive modernization of water disposal systems in TiNAO since 2012. “Shishkin Les” will be the eleventh facility.

And, what is very important, up to 80 percent of the new equipment will be Russian. Moreover, the lion’s share of it is made at Troitsk enterprises.

Yana MAYEVSKAYA.