(12/15) At the Taneytown City Council December workshop, City Engineer Brian Lubenow of CDM Smith presented progress, since September, to the Public Works Department’s compliance with the wastewater treatment plant and the sewer collection system’s state consent agreement.
The City’s wastewater treatment plant, built in 2000, was upgraded in 2016 for enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) through funding and under a consent agreement with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). "Compliance related issues are stemming from the issues at the wastewater treatment plant," he said.
When plant flows increase due to wet weather, it results in higher loads of nitrogen and phosphorus and under those conditions, the plant has struggled with meeting total nitrogen and total phosphorus limits.
The plant’s average flow of one million gallons per day can go up to 7 million gallons in inclement weather, Lubenow said. Through the plant’s dilution system, more nutrients are discharged during wet weather when maximum flow accrues resulting in the plant discharging more pounds of nitrogen or phosphorus than normal or if the sewer collection system was tighter. Minimizing the nutrient outflow Lubenow said, is critical to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
As the plant is most challenged when ‘inflow’ is greatest, minimizing unnecessary inflow into the sewer system from groundwater leaking into old piping is a primary focus of Lubenow.
The Public Works' sewer system survey is currently 90 percent complete and has identified all suspected terracotta piping. Identifying the terracotta piping is crucial as it is "more prone to allowing that inflow and infiltration into the system," Lubenow said.
Another key component of the ‘wild water’ reduction program is the upgrading of the Meadowbrook Interceptor, which runs from the Meadowbrook Development to the York Street Pump Station.
The Meadowbrook Interceptor was cleaned and televised in June 2020 and is to be rehabilitated by a combination of replacement and lining where possible. Construction is anticipated to begin in February.
Construction for the Micro-C Bulk Storage and the waste treatment plant’s sludge dewatering upgrade have also both been delayed due to equipment and delivery delays, Lubenow said. By the spring of 2022 Lubenow hopes to identify additional inflow and ‘wild water’ reduction projects and will brief the town council on the potential reductions in ‘wild water’ flow, and in doing so, move the city closer to meeting mandatory waste water runoff limits.
