Storage lagoon for St. Clement’s Shored Wastewater Treatment Plant in Compton
California, MD — The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County have made it a priority to do something about the St. Clements Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The plant in Compton, which uses land disposal, is operating near its capacity of 100,000 gallons per day. Several homes in the area have failing septic systems and others have agreements to allow hookup if the capacity is there.
The St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) has denied even hookup for those with failing septic systems under threat of fines by the state if they exceed capacity. At the request of the commissioners, MetCom hired a consultant, Dewberry, to do a study of options. Results of that study were released April 28 to MetCom and will be discussed at a joint MetCom/county commissioner meeting scheduled for May 10.
The study provides options in three phases. The first phase would allow 36 additional hookups at a price tag of upwards of a million dollars. The second phase would allow the addition of 149 additional hookups with the added flow of 136,250 gallons per day. That could cost $2 million to $7 million. The third phase would allow for hookups from a wider area (such as Breton Bay); the consultants did not provide any options on how to accomplish that.
The facility was constructed 33 years ago and upgraded in 2000, The upgrade incorporated biological treatment, lagoons for storage and spray fields and rapid infiltration basins (RIB) for disposal. The first phase would not require an increase in the allowed 100,000-gallon s/day discharge, but would instead make the plant more efficient to accommodate the additional inflow from the 38 homes,
The proposal addresses both treatment and disposal in the first phases. The plant operation efficiency is adversely affected during cold months. The proposal calls for several options to increase the temperature in the pipes during those cold weather months. The plan also calls for cleaning out the clogged RIBs to restore them to their original capacity.
The consultants told MetCom that the first phase could be accomplished by the end of the year once the decision was made. But to go to the next phase would require the state to reassess the county’s Maryland Groundwater Discharge Permit, a lengthier process. And, additional land would have to be acquired for the extra RIBs that would be required for that much capacity.
The consultants presented a number of treatment options that could go with the second phase, including the possibility of a package treatment plant.
Financing for either option will be one of the items on the agenda when MetCom and the county commissioners meet. The plant is operated by MetCom and financing would typically come from bonding through that agency. The commissioners, however, with the project on their radar, could opt for some other creative funding of their own if that was deemed legal.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com