History
The Philip Q. Maiorana (PQM) Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed and put in service in 1988. The design flow for the plant is 5.4 MGD. During wet weather conditions, the PQM plant can handle approximately 18 MGD.
Process
The PQM Wastewater Treatment Plant is a Trickling Filter treatment facility. The plant processes sewage in different stages, the first stage consists of a physical process where raw flow is detained in settling tanks separating solids, next the flow passes through the Trickling Filters which is a biological process, in that the trickling filter media has live organisms and feeds on wastewater nutrients from the fresh flow. The flow then moves on to additional settling tanks for further physical solids processing.
The final effluent produced at the plant is discharged into Lake Erie. The sludge that’s generated from the settling tanks is prepared and processed in the digesters. The processed sludge is then trucked to the Black River Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is pressed and land applied.