MSD Laboratory Services

Almost every business has a need for chemical, physical or biological testing at some time.  For MSD, it is all the time.  The "environment story" is written in the language of laboratory results.  The analysis of wastewater and residuals into and out of a treatment process are referred to as "process control analyses."  This is very important to the efficient, economical and environmentally-friendly operation of a wastewater treatment plant.  At the end of the treatment process, the water is monitored to ensure that it meets the standards in the plant's discharge permit.   These analyses are called "permit compliance" analyses.

MSD maintains laboratory facilities at each of its regional wastewater treatment plants.  These are staffed as needed by treatment plant operators for process control analyses.  Two of these laboratories are staffed full time — the West County Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Morris Forman Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The West County laboratory performs process control analyses for the West County plant and permit compliance analyses for the regional plants, except Morris Forman.  The Morris Forman laboratory provides most of the District's other analytical needs.

The Morris Forman laboratory has a permanent budgeted staff of sixteen (three associated with administration and thirteen analysts).  This laboratory is responsible for the following:

• Process control and permit compliance analysis for the Morris Forman plant.
• Permit compliance analysis for forty small treatment plants in Louisville and Jefferson County.
• Specialized testing (e.g., metal and organic chemicals) for the regional treatment plants.
• Industrial compliance monitoring.
• Pollutant load monitoring.
• Stormwater monitoring.

On average the laboratory performs 150,000 analyses each year.

The Morris Forman laboratory is also involved with a variety of other environmental projects.  The largest of these projects is the Urban Hydrology study in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey.  This study, started in 1988, monitors the condition of each of the surface streams in Jefferson County.  This study includes Floyds Fork, Goose Creek, Beargrass Creek and several other streams.

Another recent project is a study of the "wet weather" effects on the Ohio River and its tributaries in the metropolitan area.  This study is managed by the Ohio River Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), through funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The laboratory staff occasionally get to leave the bench and act as a technical resource within the District.  The staff have been involved with training programs in the region.  We have even had industrial and commercial laboratory personnel "bring their lunch" and work with us for a day or two to learn a new procedure or technique.

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