The Paradise Township Sewer Authority owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant that serves all existing sewer areas in Paradise Township. Growth in the service area necessitated an expansion of the hydraulic and organic capacity of the existing plant from 120,000-gpd to 220,000-gpd. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection required the expanded treatment plant meet biological nutrient reduction (BNR) requirements as part of Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy.

RETTEW’s wastewater treatment experts analyzed alternatives for treatment plant expansion as well as BNR. A key constraint in the alternatives analysis was to expand the treatment plant capacity using existing tankage. RETTEW recommended a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system for the upgrade because of lower operating and maintenance costs compared to other alternatives.
The Authority subsequently hired RETTEW to proceed with engineering design services for the wastewater treatment plant expansion, and we developed competitive procurement documents for purchase of the associated MBR equipment. The engineering team is designing an automated process that will be operator friendly.