AP Environmental Science students took a trip to the Wastewater Treatment Plant

Students in AP Environmental classes took a trip to the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Jones Island downtown this past Monday.

“Wastewater treatment is a process that makes more sense when you actually see it. Walking around the plant gives you a sense of the amount of waste water that is created in the area and the scale of the process to treat it,” science teacher Julie Hahm said.

The students that went on the trip enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.

“I enjoyed the the field trip. It was very interesting and we were able to walk around a lot,” senior Cheyenne Buckett said.

The trip was not only fun, but it was also educational.

“I liked the trip and it was very educational. It was about what goes on behind the scenes and how water gets to your faucet every day,” senior Sophie Wolf said. “We learned the basics about how water is cleaned and also how human actions affect our water.”

Like Wolf, Buckett also learned some interesting things.

“I learned that the place makes their own fertilizer from Milwaukee, which are called milorganite,” she said.

The trip went very well and Hahm is pleased with the information that the students gained from the experience.

​“​One of the topics that we discuss in water pollution is how wastewater is treated. The students had the chance to see where the sewage actually goes and what processes it undergoes before it is released into Lake Michigan,” Hahm said. “Before the trip they knew that there were three stages of treatment, but after the trip they can describe what happens in each stage. They also know the processes that are unique to the Milwaukee treatment plant.​”