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Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Secretary Shari T. Wilson participated with local and state elected officials to celebrate the opening of the Easton Wastewater Treatment Facility on June 13. The facility holds the distinction of receiving the first Bay Restoration Fund grant funding for its advanced technological upgrades in Maryland.
The Bay Restoration Fund pays to upgrade wastewater treatment plants and provides significant funding for agricultural cover crops. It also provides funding to upgrade private residential septic systems to reduce nitrogen loading to the Bay through groundwater from those sources.
MDE provided $17.59 million in grants for technological upgrades that will enable Easton to meet the goals for established nutrient load limitations discharged to the Chesapeake Bay. The department also provided more than $19 million in low interest loans that will expand the facility’s capacity to 4.0 million gallons per day, which will allow additional growth in a Priority Funding Area and meet Easton’s wastewater needs to 2030.
Closer to Achieving Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement Goals
“The upgrades completed at the Easton Wastewater Treatment Plant are an essential part of Maryland’s effort to achieve a 40 percent reduction in the amount of nutrients discharged to the Chesapeake Bay, while also improving local water quality,” said MDE Secretary Shari T. Wilson.
The newly upgraded $36.5 million facility will result in a decrease of nitrogen by 83 percent and phosphorus by 81 percent from entering the Choptank River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
“This state-of-the-art facility is the product of Easton’s long and proud commitment to improving and protecting our environment while still meeting the needs of our town,” said Hugh E. Grunden, President & CEO of Easton Utilities.
Maximum Treatment for Minimal Environmental Impact
The wastewater treatment plant is designed to minimize the environmental impact. The wastewater undergoes a series of physical, biological and chemical treatment steps to meet Enhanced Nutrient Removal performance with effluent concentration goals of 3.0 milligrams per liter (mg/l) for nitrogen and 0.3 mg/l phosphorus. Cultivated microbes feed on the influent, release some nitrogen as a gas, then form clumps that sink to the bottom and are removed as sludge. Phosphorus is removed in a similar manner and with additional scrubbing. To reduce the use of harsh chemicals, ultraviolet light serves as a disinfectant for pathogens. The end result is harmless nitrogen gas, a dry sludge, and water with very little nutrient levels.
The facility also employs a state-of-the-art solids handling system that significantly reduces sludge. Essentially operating like a giant clothes dryer, the new system will remove most of the water from the waste sludge using centrifugal force and heat. This system produces biosolids that are dry, compact and can safely be used as fertilizer.
“I congratulate and commend Easton for its initiative to protect and restore water quality,” said Secretary Wilson. “MDE applauds the successful planning, design, and engineering efforts for the Easton facility, which exemplifies the type of collaboration necessary for any project.”
Five wastewater treatment plants have completed upgrades to ENR and nine are now under construction. Excess nutrients lead to degraded water quality, which negatively impacts the ecology of the Bay and its tributaries. Plant by plant, the nutrient levels will continue to drop and the bay will become cleaner and healthier.
The Bay Restoration Fund is giving priority to the 66 largest wastewater treatment plants in the Bay watershed, which account for 95 percent of the effluent being discharged into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Once these facilities are upgraded, 7.5 million pounds of nitrogen will be reduced from flowing into the Chesapeake each year. To put that in perspective, annual loadings to the Bay from all of Maryland wastewater treatment plants are 16.1 million pounds.
Bay Restoration is Concerted Effort
We have a renewed sense of urgency with regard to restoring the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland’s greatest economic and environmental treasure. Bay restoration will involve a concerted effort to reduce urban runoff, address agricultural runoff, and implement state-of-the-art technology for wastewater treatment plants. Real success will take billions of dollars, innovative ideas, committed partners from riverkeepers, community and watershed associations, and political leadership from every level of government.
Click here for more information about Maryland’s efforts to restore the Bay.
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