Wastewater Utility
The sewer pipes, which range in size from 6” to 10 feet in diameter,
direct wastewater to the head works of the wastewater treatment
plant. At several locations along the interceptor routes, siphons
convey wastewater under the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. There
are nine diversion structures along the interceptor sewers that serve
to control flow through the siphons and to divert, if necessary, a
portion of wet weather flows.
The wastewater treatment plant is a primary and secondary treatment
plant. The primary treatment removes settleable solids, grit, and
floatable materials. The secondary treatment principally deals
with the removal and/or conversion of biodegradable organic
contaminants.
Typically, the facility will remove a minimum of eighty-five percent
(85%) of the contaminants that enter the treatment plant. The two
primary contaminants that the plant is designed to remove are Total
Suspended Solids (TSS) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). The
plant is designed to treat wastewater flows averaging 32 Million
Gallons per Day (MGD). During wet weather conditions, the plant
can treat as much as 75 MGD of combined sewage and stormwater.
After the primary and secondary treatment processes, a form of Chlorine
(Sodium Hypochlorite) is introduced into the wastewater for
disinfection. Any chlorine residual remaining in the treated
water is then removed through the addition of Sodium Bisulphite before
the plant effluent is discharged to the Merrimack River
The solids, or sludge, produced by the removal of pollutants go through
a solids dewatering process and are transported to a remote location
for land application.
