Sustainable Treatment Solutions That Protect Communities and the Environment
Wastewater treatment facilities represent massive infrastructure investments—acres of treatment basins, miles of collection piping, and sophisticated equipment processing millions of gallons daily. Municipal authorities, sanitary districts, and utilities managing these systems face mounting pressures, including aging treatment plants, combined sewer challenges, nutrient removal mandates, and evolving PFAS and biosolids regulations. Yet these challenges are also catalysts for opportunity. Climate resilience, energy recovery, resource optimization, and strategic phosphorus management are more than compliance obligations; they’re pathways to lower operational costs, more efficient systems, and tangible community value.
We were impressed that RETTEW has deployed experts from across the U.S. Everyone we’ve met cares so much about our needs.
Unlocking these opportunities requires engineering expertise that views wastewater challenges as interconnected systems, not isolated problems. RETTEW partners with municipal authorities, sanitary districts, and utilities to evaluate alternatives, plan strategically, and design infrastructure that meets regulatory requirements while maximizing operational efficiency and long-term value. Our wastewater engineers understand the complete treatment cycle, from collection rehabilitation through process optimization, treatment upgrades, biosolids management, and discharge compliance. We help clients implement solutions that deliver reliable, cost-effective treatment for decades.
Market Realities Wastewater Authorities Face Today
Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts drive increasingly stringent nutrient limits requiring biological nutrient removal, chemical precipitation, and filtration. RETTEW evaluates treatment alternatives and designs nutrient removal processes that balance effectiveness with lifecycle costs.
Much of the region’s wastewater infrastructure has exceeded its design life, causing aging collection pipes to develop cracks that allow groundwater infiltration and stormwater inflow. These problems overwhelm treatment capacity and drive-up operational costs. RETTEW conducts infrastructure assessments to identify vulnerable areas and designs rehabilitation projects that prevent further deterioration while helping to manage spending.
Wastewater treatment consumes substantial energy for aeration and pumping. Rather than treating this as an unavoidable cost, RETTEW designs systems that recover resources—capturing biogas through anaerobic digestion to offset energy consumption and convert biosolids into agricultural nutrients instead of disposal expenses. This approach reduces operational costs while improving environmental performance.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits establish discharge limits, monitoring requirements, and reporting obligations that continue to tighten. RETTEW helps clients maintain compliance through process optimization, treatment upgrades, and permit negotiations.
Wastewater infrastructure requires substantial capital. Federal infrastructure programs, state revolving loans, and grants can provide critical funding. RETTEW helps authorities identify opportunities, prepare applications, and develop rate studies.
Comprehensive Services RETTEW Provides
Feasibility Studies and Act 537 Planning — We develop comprehensive planning modules and facility plans to assess capacity, evaluate alternatives, estimate costs, and establish priorities aligned with regulatory requirements and available funding.
Treatment Plant Design and Upgrades — RETTEW designs new facilities and upgrades existing plants, incorporating conventional activated sludge treatment, fixed film and moving bed bioreactors, biological and enhanced nutrient removal, biosolids stabilization and handling, disinfection, and odor control. Our designs balance treatment effectiveness with operational simplicity, energy efficiency, and lifecycle costs.
Collection System Design and Rehabilitation — We assess collection system conditions, identify infiltration and inflow sources, and design targeted solutions like gravity sewers, interceptors, alternative collection systems including pressure and vacuum options, and pump stations. These projects address immediate vulnerabilities, but sustainable improvement requires ongoing management. We develop systematic programs that progressively reduce extraneous flows, preventing the treatment capacity problems that worsen over time.
Regulatory Compliance and Permitting — RETTEW prepares NPDES permit applications and renewals, conducts compliance assessments, develops monitoring programs, and provides technical support for maintaining compliance and responding to violations.
Project Financing and Grant Administration — We identify funding opportunities, prepare applications, develop preliminary engineering reports, and provide documentation required for infrastructure grants.
Construction-Phase Services and Project Representation — RETTEW provides construction administration, resident project representation, and quality assurance services ensuring projects meet design specifications and regulatory requirements.
Why Wastewater Clients Choose RETTEW
As your trusted advisor, RETTEW understands both the treatment processes and operational realities you face—aging infrastructure, tight budgets, regulatory pressures, and community expectations. Our experience spans diverse wastewater systems, from small plants to regional facilities that treat tens of millions of gallons daily.
We understand the regulatory landscape, which enables us to identify appropriate funding sources and to use our established relationships with regulatory agencies to shepherd projects through NPDES permits, construction permits, and operational approvals without sacrificing compliance.
Whether you’re planning treatment upgrades, addressing nutrient removal, managing wet weather flows, designing collection systems, securing funding, or managing construction, RETTEW provides the engineering expertise and responsive service that helps you operate efficiently while managing costs.
Let’s discuss how we can support your wastewater system needs.
