Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection required the Highspire Borough Authority to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant to meet biological nutrient removal requirements as part of Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy. The retrofit project required a difficult and complex construction sequence and had to be completed while the plant remained fully operational and within a short timeframe.

RETTEW used an innovative approach for the design and construction oversight of the upgrades within existing site constraints, while maintaining operation of the existing plant. As a result of the upgrades, Highspire’s effluent nitrogen concentration was one of the lowest in the state. Our past experience with the client and familiarity with the site, as well as our ability to commit personnel to 24-hour on-call service enabled us to complete the project in the given timeframe. Our funding expertise resulted in securing a $5 million grant from the H2OPA grant program for this $10 million project. This grant helped the Authority avoid significant rate increases, saving the Authority customers a considerable amount of money.