By Renee Worthing
Register Reporter


Sanford Sewerage District trustees opened the doors of the high-tech upgraded wastewater treatment facility to the public on May 16.
District Trustees Paul Demers, Keith Patterson, and Chief Operator Andre Brousseau guided guests over metal catwalks spanning gargantuan cement vats of wastewater, through buildings where wastewater is progressively cleaned and disinfected and finally released to a grassy area where the clean water spills into the Mousam River.
Founded in 1947 by a special act of the Legislature, the sewer department began providing wastewater treatment for commercial, industrial and residential needs in Sanford and Springvale.
However, Sewerage District employee Stephen Doiron said high levels of phosphorous caused algae blooms in Estes Lake.
When state and federal regulatory agencies directed the district to upgrade the level of wastewater being discharged into the Mousam River, the Sanford Sewerage District examined wastewater disposal alternatives and developed an advanced treatment and disposal process to meet the requirements established by the regulatory agencies, including the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
In June 2003, Phase 1 of the facility upgrade began. By August 2005, the improved treatment plant was operational.
Phase 2 broke ground in 2006 and was completed in January, at a total cost of about $20.5 million.
The Sanford Sewerage District funded the project with assistance from a Maine Department of Environmental Protection $300,000 grant. 
Sewage is now treated in three stages, Doiron said.
The facility uses several treatment processes, including aeration, chemical treatment for the removal of phosphorus, filtration for suspended solids removal and disinfection by ultraviolet light.
It can treat up to 4.9 million gallons of wastewater per day, removing more than 95 percent of suspended solids and more than 90 percent of the phosphorus. After the treated water is disinfected with ultraviolet light, which causes damage to the genetic structure of bacteria, the water is discharged into the Mousam River.
Because no chemicals are used in the final disinfection stage of the water, the water has no adverse effect on people, fish, animals or plants, Doiron said.
Solids, also called sludge, are neutralized and disposed of on site, a practice Doiron said is very unusual, but saves the town money.
“If we didn’t dispose of it here, it would have to be trucked out,” he said.
Demers said the upgraded facility is also good for economic development because the new facility can handle much more wastewater than before.
“If an industrial company that uses a lot of water wants to come in to town, we can now handle them,” Demers said.
 To contact Renee Worthing, email news@intheregister.com or 282-4337 ext. 240