Trials and Tribulations of Solving Small Community Wastewater Problems

Providing wastewater treatment for small communities located in areas of the country with stringent effluent discharge limits can pose significant problems. The Marley Run Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) located in Huntingtown, Maryland serves the Marley Run community which consists of approximately 60 homes. The plant is a 15,000 gallons per day (gpd) facility which consists of a distribution box, primary septic tank, denitrification tank, submerged fixed film treatment, post equalization tanks and effluent pump station. The plant currently receives an average daily flow of 6,000 gallons per day. The facility has not been able to consistently meet its Groundwater Discharge permit requirements: BOD5 of 20 mg/L and TN of 22 mg/L. An evaluation was conducted to determine the treatability of the wastewater using an activated sludge process. A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was determined to be a cost-effective activated sludge treatment process capable of achieving the effluent discharge limits for the facility. Consequently a new SBR treatment process was implemented at the Marley Run WWTP to treat wastewater from the Marley Run community. The facility has been online since 2011 and has been performing very well, achieving the plant's discharge permit limits.