Tyson’s Seguin complex takes extra steps to be neighborly

The Texas facility treats wastewater to be cleaner than what’s required by the city of Seguin and makes special considerations to reduce odors and respect its neighborhood.

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From left: Kynan Barry, Seguin Complex environmental manager; Tracy Shannon, Seguin plant manager and Jess Chadick, Seguin complex manager | Photo by Austin Alonzo
From left: Kynan Barry, Seguin Complex environmental manager; Tracy Shannon, Seguin plant manager and Jess Chadick, Seguin complex manager | Photo by Austin Alonzo

Tyson Foods Inc.’s Seguin, Texas, complex goes the extra mile both in terms of being a good neighbor and producing clean pretreated water.

The complex’s poultry wastewater operation pretreats an average of 1 million gallons of water per process day to a level higher than necessary for discharge into the city of Seguin, Texas, municipal water treatment system. In addition to that, it employs special measures to reduce its impact on its neighbors. Because of this, the pretreatment facility received an honorable mention for the 2018 U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Clean Water Award for the partial treatment category.

Wastewater pretreatment

The Seguin complex pretreats water from both the on-site broiler processing plant and rendering plants. Water is first treated in a dissolved air flotation (DAF) unit, which utilizes a binding chemical to improve solids removal. It then flows into a raceway-style oxidation ditch where anaerobic digestion occurs. After that, water is treated in a second DAF unit and discharged to the city. Sludge is collected from the DAF units and disposed of by Tyson.

The treatment process uses a flow-controlled chemical dosing system that doses chemicals based on water flow rate through the DAF units. This helps ensure proper water treatment at higher flow rates and eliminates chemical waste at lower flow rates.

Neighborly behavior

The Seguin Complex also takes special steps to reduce any negative effects on the adjacent properties. The plant is located within city limits, across the street from Texas Lutheran University’s campus and next to a residential neighborhood – including some homes backing up to the pretreatment plant – and is next to a municipal hike and bike trail.

Kynan Barry, environmental manager for Tyson’s Seguin complex, said the plant and the pretreatment operation employs four air scrubbers to limit odor emissions. Additionally, the plant recently installed several hundred feet of metal privacy fencing around the water facility to improve the view of the plant’s residential neighbors and the community using the trail. A citizen advisory panel was also created to promote positive community relations.

As a top employer in town, the facility is involved with the community, too. The plant holds regular fundraisers to support local causes, and it’s adopted a portion of the local hike and bike trail. Along with that, it also takes charge of waste management and recycling of items like aerosol cans, electronic waste, scrap metal, used oil and wooden pallets.

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