The University Area Joint Authority (UAJA) owns and operates the Spring Creek Pollution Control Facility, which treats sewage flows from the Centre Region prior to discharging to Spring Creek. The facility had advanced treatment with tertiary effluent standards rated for 10.56 mgd annually. As part of a beneficial reuse project, UAJA added an advanced water treatment (AWT) system to divert 1 mgd of effluent from Spring Creek to the community via dedicated beneficial reuse piping.

As Pennsylvania drew closer to the milestones outlined in the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy, UAJA had concerns about meeting the associated enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) requirements. UAJA and RETTEW collaborated on several focused studies to identify a series of improvements that would position UAJA for long-term success in implementing ENR strategy. As part of the feasibility analysis, the impacts of doubling the capacity of the AWT system were considered.

Upgrades associated with the ENR treatment included the addition of mixing and recycle piping to existing biological treatment tanks, retrofitting existing tertiary filters to denitrification filters, and adding post aeration. A 500,000 gallon equalization tank, new pump station, two microfilters, and a second reference osmosis unit, along with various, smaller associated upgrades, were added to the facility, which doubled the capacity of the AWT system.