The move away from lagoons to becoming a fully mechanical treatment plant has certainly rung the changes at a small facility just north of Little Rock, Arkansas.
The WWTP’s history and managing of the steep learning curve has been a true family affair.
For over five decades, sewage was treated at Gravel Ridge by partially-aerated lagoons, which met all required discharge limits.
The man firmly behind the makings of this inaugural process for the town was the late Clarence Phillips.
Today it is his grandson, Jacob Phillips, 37, who is at the helm as Site Superintendent, though only a couple of short years ago, he was busy maintaining housing for the US Air Force.
His move to The Gravel Ridge Sewer Improvement District 213 is firmly down to his father, Mark Phillips, 63, who has worked at the facility for the past 35 years. If there isn’t a plan to mount a special Phillips family plaque at the WWTP or in the town, there should be.
“Dad knows where absolutely everything is here,” says Jacob. “Everything! But as soon as it became known that a mechanical plant was on the horizon, he asked me to change my job and come in to help run...
Future assured as second and third generations take Gravel Ridge forward
