Wright-Pierce News

Final Design Underway for $80 Million Upgrade to Address Nutrient Discharge Limits

Improvements Put District in Compliance with General Permit

Wright-Pierce wastewater engineers recently began the final design phase for the $80 million upgrade to the Mattabassett District Regional Water Pollution Control Facility to prepare the District for compliance with Connecticut's advanced nitrogen discharge standards, among the most stringent in the country to protect and restore Long Island Sound. The upgrades will reduce the nitrogen levels at this 35 million gallon per day facility to the current limit of technology, which is about 3 parts per million of total nitrogen. 

For the past four decades, secondary wastewater treatment has been the norm with only a small fraction of facilities having to meet more advanced standards. However, escalating concerns about water quality are making nutrient standards common place, and over the next few years advanced wastewater treatment for phosphorus and/or nitrogen nutrient removal will become the norm.

Wright-Pierce is helping municipalities and utilities, in regions throughout New England that are tributary to coastal waters, address the new standards. We have established a reputation for developing innovative, successful solutions driven by the specific needs of each facility.

Bill Brown, a Senior Wastewater Engineer and President of Wright-Pierce, and colleages in the Wastewater Practice Group, discuss the phosphorus issues associated with fresh water, and nitrogen discharges that impact marine environments and groundwater, in two recently published Water and Wastes Digest articles.

To read the Water and Waste Digest articles click the link below.

Nitrogen: The 21st Century Coastal Environmental Challenge
Wastewater Phosphorus Standards Becoming the Norm