Prt eRe

Filling for the first tlme, the “grit chamber” in Terrace’s

“new sewage treatment plant slows the flow of waste

material, allowing sand and non-organic wastes to settle

_ before sewage enters the lagoon system, where a new

design by Hinde Engineering simulates the natural
breakdown of wastes before they are released into the
Skeena River as a harmless liquid.

Business Beat.

What’s involved in
retail financing

Retail financing can be defined simply
as a combination of the need for -money
by a retailer, and the provision of money
to a retailer by a lender or investor.

The need for money can come when a
retail business is just getting started, __
when it is doing well, or when it needs
financing to enable its survival during —
lean times.

Retail financing, then, is a factor both
when a business is in a *‘boom” situation

by Phil Harti
Manager, Terrace

Federal Business or when it is striving to hold off the
Development Bank disaster of a ‘“‘bust’’.

In either case, one of the major problems that can be faced by |

the proprietor of any retail business is attempting to determine
the best way to obtain financing when the need arises. Knowing

: exactly what is involved in the process can give a retailer a decid-

ed advantage at that time.
That’s most important, because when he or she is looking for
financing it must be remembered that other businesses

. simultaneously are competing for the same loan or investment

money.

‘Lenders and investors first look-for.evidence of good manage-
ment from an applicant. They must be provided, of course, with
the necessary and appropriate statements and figures to enable

| them to reach a decision,

Being prepared, knowing the required procedures, and being -

aware of the various kinds of financing available to retailers are
‘the first steps in demonstrating sound management in any such
_ proposal, -

There are a number of factors involved in determing whether

: or not a loan application will be accepted, and these will be

discussed i in detail in future columns in this series.
The provision of money, for example, can be divided into two
categories: ownership money and borrowed money. Ownership

. Money is equity financing and the use of a business’s profits.
‘ Borrowed money means loans and trade credits. The second
- Category is the most common form of retail financing.

But, obviously, a retail proprietor must study both options

‘carefully before making the decision as to which will be most
satisfactory in any particular case.

From the lender’s point of view, meanwhile, an important con-
sideration is security, lack of which is the major reason why a
great number of retailers have their loan proposals reduced or, at

~ the very worst, turned down.

In financing a retail business, lenders want to be sure that they

~ won't lose their money.

And while debt load and lack of equity are factors which
lenders consider when evaluating a business as a viable concern,
security is what they use to protect their loan in case they have
misjudged and the business fails. Thus, the proof of security:
becomes.a key for a retailer seeking fi inancing.

| Terrace Review — Wednesday, August 24, 1988. 13

| ‘Terrace clty council members Ruth Hallock and Bob Cooper opened the valve to the
new sewage treatment plant last Friday, making the old facility obsolete. The two

25-by-75 feet, 15-feet deep clarifiers seen in the background, have now been replaced.
by two clay- ined lagoons measuring 358-by-440 feet, and 15-feet deep. The new

system will reduce odors and greatly improve the quality of effluent entering the

Skeena River.

Sewage treatment plant
jurgles in on budget

TERRACE — The city’s new
$1.8 million sewage treatment
plant went on-line, on-budget,
last Friday when aldermen Ruth

Hallock and Bob Cooper open-

ed the main valve to the new
lagoon system while Don Gare,
Foreman of, Environmental
Health Services, for the city,
closed the valve to the old
system, According to _ Gare, it
will take 30 days for the new
lagoon system to fill before en-
vironmentally clean effluent will

begin to be released into the

Skeena River.

Gare says the new facility was

necessary because the old system
had been in use for 24 years and
was releasing sub-standard ef-
fluent into the Skeena. Also,
says Gare, the lagoon system is
capable of handling twice the
city’s present population, has
room for expansion whenever
necessary and will be mainten-
ance free for at least 20 years,
cutting the city’s sewage treat-
ment operational costs.

The new ‘‘Aqua-Air’’ system

was designed by Hinde Engin-
eering and is based on the natur-
al treatment of wastes. It dupli-
cates the rolling action of a
stream and circulates wastes be-
tween the bottom and surface,
adding oxygen by photosyn-
thesis and surface absorption.
Wastes are therefore quickly ox-
idized into carbon dioxide,
water and small amounts of ash.

Gare explains that treatment
begins when raw sewage enters
the “‘grit chamber’’, which slows
the rate of flow allowing sand
and non-organic wastes to settle.
He says the waste then flows in-
to the first of two 358-by-440-
by-15 foot lagoons before enter-
ing the second, and then finally
entering the Skeena 30 days
later.

During the 30 days the sewage |

is in the system, air is artifically
introduced through valved tub-
ing laid in a parallel pattern
across the lagoons. The shape of
each valve provides very fine
bubbles which increase oxygen
absorption effectively, and. a

slight pressure promotes even air
discharge. In the event of a
power failure, the valves close
automatically to prevent solids
from entering the aeration
system.

Fine bubbles from the
aerating tubing form a con-
tinuous stream of gently rising

_air which acts as a hydraulic bar-

tier to hold water behind it, cir-
culating the water from top to
bottom before it passes through
the barrier to the next cell. Aera-
tion continues in each cell and a

large volume of oxygen is
dissolved in the water, reducing
aerobically suspended solids to
carbon dioxide and water. © -
Other solids are also digested
by facultative bacteria and the
result is an almost identical
duplication of the natural pro-

-cess of digestion of sludge —

much of it into protein. In addi-
tion, the system inherently pro-
vides primary settlement of
solids, biological oxidation,
final settling, odor contro! and

continued on page 23

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