Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Saco Wastewater Treatment Plant is a secondary or biological treatment facility licensed to treat an average daily flow of 4.2 million gallons per day (MGD). The plant is located on Front Street next to the Saco Yacht Club.

The original plant was built in 1971. We had a major upgrade in 1988 that increased our capacity from 1.57 MGD to 4.2 MGD. Since 1988, we have completed a number of significant capital improvements at the plant such as:

Replacing the roof on the Process Control Building
Building an Administration Building
Adding a Dechlorination Facility
Replacing the heating system and removal of underground fuel tanks
Extending the WWTP outfall line 700 feet in the river
Replacing the gaseous chlorination system with a safer liquid chlorination system
Construction of a grit handling building which is heated by solar thermal
Implementation of storm water treatment technologies utilizing a Grit King and Storm King
Upgrading the aeration system with new diffusers and blowers
Installing anoxic zones to optimize nutrient removal (primarily nitrogen)
Utilizing a Fournier press for efficient solids dewatering

The total cost of wastewater related projects conducted in the last 20 years exceeds 30 million dollars.

The department has a full time staff of nine that are responsible for:

Transporting of wastewater to the WWTP via pump stations;
Operating and maintaining the plant and 29 pump stations
Treating of wastewater prior to discharge to the Saco River
Planning, coordinating, and implementing the Combined Sewer Overflow Program
Billing of user fees