Two Days in Ninevah, Indiana

March 14, 2016

March 1st and 8th saw Barb Smith of Wastewater 101, LLC in the little town of Ninevah. Our classroom was situated in the main room of City Hall (and we Thank the Mayor and Council for allowing use of the room) that was perfect for our two-day session. The course centered around the Wastewater Operator Certification Review for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Exam. We had students from Bloomington, Franklin, Louisville, Portland and Prince’s Lake studying for levels from Class I to Class IV and one who just wanted to get more of a wastewater education. Class time covered the Indiana Operator Certification Manual, Completing the Discharge Monitoring Report utilizing the Monthly Report of Operations, Basic Math – calculating area, volume, converting cubic feet to gallons to pounds, and using the Davidson Pie chart. We also covered the main topics from the Sacramento Course that was relevant to the exam. In the week between the two sessions the attendees were sent homework in the form of quizzes to keep them focused on their studies. Following the last day of the course the students were sent more quizzes and paperwork to help them study for their specific levels of the exams. My only regret is that we were running a little late and everyone got away before I got photos.

Ninevah would be a great place to utilize in the southern part of the state for continuing education in the future.

Lunch was not provided, but many of us partook of a wonderful lunch from Hickory Hills Barbeque, located at 16021 N. U.S. Highway 31, Edinburgh, IN. Talk about good barbeque and nachos with barbeque, WOW – their barbeque is awesome and they put out a crock of old fashioned dill spears that is just too much. However, one down side is their ribs are not available until Friday and Saturday, which may necessitate another trip to the Prince’s Lake area.

Following the last day of class a few of us were lucky enough to tour the Prince’s Lake Wastewater Treatment Facility which is located on the grounds of Camp Atterbury proper. To get in you must show ID then travel a good while into the grounds. There we were met by the Assistant Superintendent Scott Blackwell and he along with employees Roy and Ray provided us with a very detailed tour of their very well maintained facility. I can only do it justice by saying that when we were leaving Larry Smith (my husband) looked at me and said, “Are you sure they are a wastewater plant? It doesn’t smell and it is so clean.” That should give you a good idea of care these people take of that facility. Following are some photos of the Prince’s Lake Wastewater Treatment Facility.